I cringe when critics say I'm a master of the popular novel. What's an unpopular novel? Irwin Shaw More Quotes by Irwin Shaw More Quotes From Irwin Shaw Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but you enjoy it. Irwin Shaw hurtfootballsports There are too many books I haven’t read, too many places I haven’t seen, too many memories I haven’t kept long enough. Irwin Shaw memorieslongbook An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts upon himself. Irwin Shaw punishmentwritinghands Writing is like a contact sport, like football. Why do kids play football? They can get hurt on any play, can't they? Yet they can't wait until Saturday comes around so they can play on the high school team, or the college team, and get smashed around. Writing is like that. You can get hurt, but you enjoy it! Irwin Shaw footballsportslife I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that would never have occurred to me dead sober. Irwin Shaw glasseswritingideas If football players were armed with guns, there wouldn't be stadiums large enough to hold the crowds. Irwin Shaw gunplayerfootball I haven't stuck to any formula. Most great writers stick to the same style, but I wanted to be more various Irwin Shaw stuckstylesticks People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly. Irwin Shaw lightdarkpeople I'm not as hopeful as I was when I was young Irwin Shaw hopefulyoung A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much. Irwin Shaw editorswritingtalking I imagine that my characters have become much more complicated than when I first began, which would be normal Irwin Shaw literaturewould-becharacter My views naturally have mellowed. Most of the critics have been more or less nice to me Irwin Shaw niceliteratureviews Posterity makes the judgments. There are going to be a lot of surprises in store for everybody. Irwin Shaw judgmentsurpriseliterature Ernest Hemingway did a great deal toward making the writer an acceptable public figure; obviously, he was no sissy. Irwin Shaw figure-skatingsissyfigures Every novelist has a different purpose-and often several purposes which might even be contradictory. Irwin Shaw novelistsdifferentwriting No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if he doesn't get paid. Irwin Shaw sorryfeelingswriting The last paragraph in which you tell what the story is about is almost always best left out. Irwin Shaw lastsliteraturestories The great writers just kept bringing them out. They didn't care if they repeated themselves. Irwin Shaw great-writerscareliterature In the theater, characters have to cut the umbilical cord from the writer and talk in their own voices Irwin Shaw cuttingvoicecharacter Critics in New York are made by their dislikes, not by their enthusiasms. Irwin Shaw new-yorkenthusiasmmade
