A Quote by William Zinsser

Writing is a craft not an art.

William Zinsser

Quote Topics

Art Craft Writing

Quote Author

William Zinsser
American - Writer
October 7, 1922 - May 12, 2015

Art is craft: all art is always and essentially a work of craft: but in the true work of art, before the craft and after it, is some essential durable core of being, which is what the craft works on, and shows, and sets free. The statue in the stone. How does the artist find that, see it, before it's visible? That is a real question.

Ursula K. Le Guin

The difference between art and craft lies not in the tools you hold in your hands, but in the mental set that guides them. For the artisan, craft is an end in itself. For you, the artist, craft is the vehicle for expressing your vision. Craft is the visible edge of art.

David Bayles

Craft' gets a bad rap. Mediocre art is not caused by craft; it is caused by artists. Good art employs whatever craft works best.

Walter Darby Bannard

If you want to be considered a poet, you will have to show mastery of the petrarchan sonnet form or the sestina. Your musical efforts must begin with well-formed fugues. There is no substitute for craft... Art begins with craft, and there is no art until craft has been mastered.

Anthony Burgess

Writing is possibly an art, but crime writing is definitely a craft.

Ashwin Sanghi

Art can't be taught; passion can't be taught; discipline can't be taught; but craft can be taught. And writing is both an art and a craft.

Elizabeth George

Like most art forms, writing is part instinct and part craft. The craft part is the part that can be taught, and that can make a crucial difference to lots of writers.

Matt Haig

I don't let myself believe in writer's block. I feel very strongly writing is habit as much as an art or a craft. And if you write crap, you're still writing.

Nora Roberts

Art stands on the shoulders of craft, which means that to get to the art, you must master the craft.

Ann Patchett

Writing good dialogue is art as well as craft.

Stephen King

The craft or art of writing is the clumsy attempt to find symbols for the wordlessness.

John Steinbeck

The craft of writing is the art of penetrating other minds with the figures that are in your own mind.

John Steinbeck

Writing, at least a craft and at its best an art, aspiring to the unique, is the most difficult to learn.

Jacques Barzun

In America, where writers are preoccupied with the craft of writing, I always try to introduce this concept of the badly written good story. Turning the hierarchy around and putting passion on top and not craft, because when you just focus on craft, you can write something that is very sterile.