A Quote by Hilma Wolitzer

Writing fiction is a solitary occupation but not really a lonely one. The writer's head is mobbed with characters, images and language.

Hilma Wolitzer

Quote Topics

Characters Fiction Head Images Language Lonely Occupation Really Solitary Writer Writing Writing Fiction

Quote Author

Hilma Wolitzer
American - Novelist
Born: 1930

Writing fiction is a solitary occupation but not really a lonely one. The writer's head is mobbed with characters, images and language, making the creative process something like eavesdropping at a party for which you've had the fun of drawing up the guest list. Loneliness usually doesn't set in until the work is finished, and all the partygoers and their imagined universe have disappeared.

Hilma Wolitzer

I see manuscripts and books that are spoiled for the literary reader because they are one long stream of top-of-the-head writing, a writer telling a story without concern for precision or freshness in the use of language. Some of this storytelling reads as if it were spoken rather than written, stuffed with tired images that pop into the writer's head because they are so familiar. The top of the head is fit for growing hair, but not for generating fine prose.

Sol Stein

Writing is a solitary occupation; we don't really have any colleagues.

Chris Pavone

It's true that writing is a solitary occupation, but you would be surprised at how much companionship a group of imaginary characters can offer once you get to know them.

Anne Tyler

Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.

Jessamyn West

Writing is a solitary endeavor, but not a lonely one. When you write, your world is populated by the characters you invent, and you feel those people filling your life.

Danielle Steel

Writing is a solitary endeavor, but not a lonely one. When you write, your world is populated by the characters you invent and you feel those people filling your lives.

Danielle Steel

You never feel lonely if you're writing, because you're living with all these characters in your head.

Julie Andrews

Writing is a solitary occupation.

Bernard Cornwell

That is as true for fiction or non-fiction. The writer has to really know their subject. It is really important to remember that the readers are a lot smarter than the writer. Also, good writing has to do with rewriting. You will never get it right the first time. So you rewrite and rewrite again until you get it right. Until you, and the reader, will be able to visualize what you're writing about.

Michael Scott

Writing is, of course, a solitary occupation. But for many writers, myself included, it's through writing that we make certain vital connections.

Elizabeth Berg

Writing, by nature, is a fairly solitary occupation.

Michael Cimino

Writing is a solitary occupation, and we like it that way.

Julianne MacLean

In a sense, journalism can be both helpful and detrimental to a writer of fiction because the kind of writing you need to do as a journalist is so different. It has to be clear, unambiguous, concise, and as a writer often you are trying to do things that are more ambiguous. I find that writing fiction is often an antidote to reading and writing too much journalism.

Aravind Adiga

It's a cliche, but true, that writing is intensely solitary and at times really lonely. I sit in one room and talk to squirrels and blue jays all day.