They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.
Harper LeeRead
Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writers should create for their own satisfaction rather than for others' approval.
This quote by Harper Lee emphasizes the importance of personal enjoyment and authenticity in the writing process. A true writer values their own voice and experiences above external validation, suggesting that genuine creativity stems from self-fulfillment rather than catering to audience expectations.
Themes
WritingCreativityAuthenticitySelf-PleasureArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, I would quote this to encourage authors to be true to their own style.
More from Harper Lee
All quotes →It's better to be silent than to be a fool.
Harper LeeRead
Don’t talk like that, Dill,” said Aunt Alexandra. “It’s not becoming to a child. It’s – cynical.” “I ain’t cynical, Miss Alexandra. Tellin’ the truth’s not cynical, is it?” “The way you tell it, it is.
Harper LeeRead
With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable.
Harper LeeRead
He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.
Harper LeeRead
You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family, an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't.
Harper LeeRead
Similar quotes
It's like these ideas, these characters, kind of bubble up inside me, and one day they're not there, and the next day they are there. They're alive, and they're whispering in my head and all that stuff, and I want to write about those things.
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Successful fiction does not need to be validated by 'real life'; I cringe whenever a writer is asked how much of a novel is 'real'.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
And that's the soulful thing about playing: you offer something to somebody. You don't know if they'll like it, but you offer it.
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One difference between poetry and lyrics is that lyrics sort of fade into the background. They fade on the page and live on the stage when set to music.
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Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.
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I can't be alone among fiction writers in regarding the world, so much weirder than anything we could make up, as beating us at our own game or in racking my brains over what could possibly constitute a contribution when novels pale before the newspaper.
Lionel ShriverRead