No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if he doesn't get paid.

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.

My favorite short-story writer is John Cheever.

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.

Ernest Hemingway did a great deal toward making the writer an acceptable public figure; obviously, he was no sissy.

The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I think a writer is a citizen of humanity, part of his nation, part of his family. He may have to make some compromises.