“Contrary to what some might believe, writing does not generate enjoyment or pleasure in itself, quite the opposite; And yet, I feel the need to write fiction as if I have a feeling that I will find something in the middle of my narrative journey, no matter how painful it may be.”

—  José Baroja

Source: Klairet Levy, R. Interview to José Baroja. http://letras.mysite.com/jbar050923.html

Last update May 21, 2025. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Contrary to what some might believe, writing does not generate enjoyment or pleasure in itself, quite the opposite; And…" by José Baroja?
José Baroja photo
José Baroja 143
Chilean author and editor 1983

Related quotes

Patrick White photo
Grover Cleveland photo

“I feel as if it were time for me to write to someone who will believe what I write.”

Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) 22nd and 24th president of the United States

Letter to his brother Rev. William N. Cleveland (7 November 1882); published in The Writings and Speeches of Grover Cleveland (1892), p. 534.
Context: I feel as if it were time for me to write to someone who will believe what I write.
I have been for some time in the atmosphere of certain success, so that I have been sure that I should assume the duties of the high office for which I have been named. I have tried hard, in the light of this fact, to appreciate properly the responsibilities that will rest upon me, and they are much, too much underestimated. But the thought that has troubled me is, can I well perform my duties, and in such a manner as to do some good to the people of the State? I know there is room for it, and I know that I am honest and sincere in my desire to do well; but the question is whether I know enough to accomplish what I desire.
The social life which seems to await me has also been a subject of much anxious thought. I have a notion that I can regulate that very much as I desire; and, if I can, I shall spend very little time in the purely ornamental part of the office. In point of fact, I will tell you, first of all others, the policy I intend to adopt, and that is, to make the matter a business engagement between the people of the State and myself, in which the obligation on my side is to perform the duties assigned me with an eye single to the interest of my employers. I shall have no idea of re-election, or any higher political preferment in my head, but be very thankful and happy I can serve one term as the people's Governor.

Isaac Asimov photo

“No matter how various the subject matter I write on, I was a science-fiction writer first and it is as a science-fiction writer that I want to be identified.”

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …

In Joy Still Felt (1980), pp. 286-287
General sources

Percy Bysshe Shelley photo
Fernando Pessoa photo
Ford Madox Ford photo

“You may well ask why I write. And yet my reasons are quite many.”

Part One, Ch. I (p. 5)
The Good Soldier (1915)
Context: You may well ask why I write. And yet my reasons are quite many. For it is not unusual in human beings who have witnessed the sack of a city or the falling to pieces of a people to set down what they have witnessed for the benefit of unknown heirs or of generations infinitely remote; or, if you please, just to get the sight out of their heads.

Katherine Mansfield photo
Mariko Tamaki photo

“Definitely if I am writing something that feels completely straight, I’ll sew some queerness in there, because queerness is always there. It’s like when you’re writing a cityscape, you need to write in the characters that would be there. To me, not doing that is more of a choice.”

Mariko Tamaki (1975) Canadian writer and artist

On usually including queer characters in “Interview: Mariko Tamaki” https://www.geeksout.org/2018/06/20/interview-mariko-tamaki/ in Geeks Out (2018 Jun 20)

“I bring everything I know to whatever I write, and I believe the same of other writers. A person’s complete life experience forms the basis of authorial voice, in my opinion. To hold back any part makes a narrative feel contrived.”

Tade Thompson British science fiction writer

On incorporating his medicine background into his writings in “Interview: Tade Thompson” http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/interview-tade-thompson/ in Lightspeed Magazine (October 2017)

Related topics