A Quote by Joshua Cohen

Writing is a conviction before it is a craft.

Joshua Cohen

Quote Topics

Before Conviction Craft Writing

Quote Author

Joshua Cohen
American - Novelist
Born: 1980

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

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.

Etgar Keret

I craft everything in the beginning. I know where the characters are going before I start writing the book.

Ann Patchett

Read and write with a sensitive ear. The craft of writing is very important. Practice the craft.

Henry Petroski

I'm always writing. A friend of mine once said, 'You avoid re-writing by writing.' Which is kind of a good point, because re-writing seems to be mostly about craft, and writing is just, like, getting out your passion on a piece of paper.

Cameron Crowe

One of the things I learnt over the years is that there is a craft to writing, like there is a craft to acting. I hadn't done my apprenticeship as a writer. I did try to be a writer for hire but I'm not any good at it.

Lennie James

On the craft level, writing for children is not so different from writing for adults. You still have to have a story that moves forward. You still have to have the tools of the trade down. The difference arises in the knowledge of who you're writing for. This isn't necessary true of writing for adults.

Kathi Appelt

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

For my students who are trying to learn the craft of writing in a writing class - contemporary literature is what's most useful.

Alan Lightman

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

Ashwin Sanghi

The most important advice I can offer is that writing is a craft that you can learn by practicing. If you keep writing, you will improve.

Lauren Tarshis

Writing is writing. It's an abiding, wonderful talent, craft, gift that stays with you your whole life. And you can go in different forms, and you can try them. Look at me: I'm writing novels because I found something I love because I tried it.

Adriana Trigiani

Of course, you can't teach songwriting. You can only encourage people to do it and help them to sort out for themselves what they want to achieve, and get a list of exercises together that improves the craft and gives them more access to the craft of writing good songs.

Rodney Crowell

Good writing is good writing no matter what genre you're writing in, and I believe that there are only a handful of fundamental craft tools that are essential for any genre-including nonfiction.

Georgia Heard

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

Mostly, I would like people to ask other writers about the craft of their writing so we could learn from one another. We ask movie directors why they chose to use certain lights and angles and speeds of film, but most of the time, we ignore the craft of a writer.

Alexandra Fuller

A Quote by Joshua Cohen

Quote Topics

Quote Author

Related Quotes

Related Authors