“Every writer wants to be believed. But every writer knows he is spurious; every fiction writer would rather be credible than authentic.”
As quoted in "Master of the Secret World: John le Carré on Deception, Storytelling and American Hubris" by Andrew Ross, in Salon (21 October 1996); also in Conversations with John le Carré (2004) edited by Matthew Joseph Bruccoli and Judith Baughman, p. 140
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
John le Carré42
British novelist and spy 1931Related quotes
Jorge Luis Borges book Ficciones
"The Secret Miracle"; Variant: Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he envisaged or planned.
Source: Ficciones (1944)
“What I really wanted was every kind of life, and the writer’s life seemed the most inclusive.”
Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist
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
“I was the embodiment of every writer's worst fear: a cliché.”
Gillian Flynn book Gone Girl
Source: Gone Girl
“The writer is a spiritual anarchist, as in the depth of his soul every man is.”
William Saroyan (1908–1981) American writer
The William Saroyan Reader (1958)
Context: The writer is a spiritual anarchist, as in the depth of his soul every man is. He is discontented with everything and everybody. The writer is everybody's best friend and only true enemy — the good and great enemy. He neither walks with the multitude nor cheers with them. The writer who is a writer is a rebel who never stops.
“In every man's writings, the character of the writer must lie recorded.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
Goethe (1828).
1820s, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1827–1855)
Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist
The Rome Press Conference (23 July 2001)