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14 Quotes on Writing by W. Somerset Maugham

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W. Somerset Maugham was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s. His most well-known works include Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence and The Razor's Edge.

W. Somerset Maugham on Writing

“If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn't matter a damn how you write.”
#23
W. Somerset Maugham
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
#65
W. Somerset Maugham
“Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.”
#695
W. Somerset Maugham
“We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.”
#696
W. Somerset Maugham
“A good style should show no signs of effort. What is written should seem a happy accident.”
#697
W. Somerset Maugham
“The best style is the style you don't notice.”
#698
W. Somerset Maugham
“You cannot write well or much (and I venture the opinion that you cannot write well unless you write much) unless you form a habit.”
#699
W. Somerset Maugham
“Words have weight, sound and appearance; it is only by considering these that you can write a sentence that is good to look at and good to listen to.”
#700
W. Somerset Maugham
“Habits in writing as in life are only useful if they are broken as soon as they cease to be advantageous.”
#701
W. Somerset Maugham
“It's very hard to be a gentleman and a writer.”
#702
W. Somerset Maugham
“We do not write as we want, but as we can.”
#703
W. Somerset Maugham
“No author can create a character out of nothing. He must have a model to give him a starting point; but then his imagination goes to work, he builds him up, adding a trait here, a trait there, which his model did not possess.”
#704
W. Somerset Maugham
“Writing is a wholetime job: no professional writer can afford only to write when he feels like it.”
#705
W. Somerset Maugham
“The ideas for stories that thronged my brain would not let me rest till I had got rid of them by writing them.”
#706
W. Somerset Maugham
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Focus Saved In my younger and more vulnerable years years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. | The Great Gatsby Chapter I Words 106 Writing Time 00:18:20 / 00:30:00 Speed 342 words/hour
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. | The Great Gatsby 12:46:32 Chapter I 106 W 00:18:20