“That's a very good way to learn the craft of writing — from reading.”

—  William Faulkner

Faulkner in the University, p. 117
Faulkner in the University (1959)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Feb. 4, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "That's a very good way to learn the craft of writing — from reading." by William Faulkner?
William Faulkner photo
William Faulkner214
American writer 1897–1962

Related quotes

“I'm not sure I was very good as a kid. It was a craft that I learned. However, I was very enthusiastic as a child and you get better over the years!”

Ryan Gage (1983) English actor

Source: Ryan Gage On His Blossoming Career and Exciting New Projects! https://www.iconvsicon.com/2014/11/28/on-the-rise-ryan-gage-on-his-blossoming-career-and-exciting-new-projects/ (2014)

“The best way to become a successful writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget where you remember it from.”

Gene Fowler (1890–1960) American journalist

Attributed without citation in Blythe Camenson (2002) How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book. p. 188

“It is a general observation that people write as they read. As a rule, careful writers are careful readers and vice versa. A careful writer wants to be read carefully. He cannot know what it means to be read carefully but by having done careful reading himself. Reading precedes writing. We read before we write. We learn to write by reading. A man learns to write well by reading well good books, by reading most carefully books which are most carefully written.”

Leo Strauss book Persecution and the Art of Writing

Source: Persecution and the Art of Writing (1952), How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise, p. 144

Alberto Manguel photo

“From its very start, reading is writings apotheosis.”

Alberto Manguel (1948) writer

Beginnings, p. 179.
A History of Reading (1996)

Eudora Welty photo

“Indeed, learning to write may be part of learning to read. For all I know, writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading.”

Eudora Welty (1909–2001) American author

Source: On Writing

Lois Duncan photo

“Sit down every day and DO IT. Writing is a self-taught craft; the more you work at it, the more skilled you become. And when you're not writing, READ.”

Lois Duncan (1934–2016) American young-adult and children's writer

“We have found that it's a good idea to read as many authors and as many different genres as possible. That way, we can learn more about writing and it gives us ideas to try different things.”

Marcia Jones (writer) (1958) American author

Marcia Thornton Jones Interview https://web.archive.org/web/20121024121117/http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/marcia-thornton-jones-interview-transcript (1997)

Robert Rauschenberg photo

“I still have a struggle reading [dyslexia] and so I don't read much... Probably the only reason I'm painter is because I couldn't read yet I love to write, but when I write I know what I'm writing, but when I'm reading I can’t see it, because it goes from all sides of the page at once. But that's very good for printmaking.”

Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) American artist

Quote from interview: 'Robert Rauschenberg talks...', Maxime de la Falaise McKendry, 6 May 1976, p. 34
1970's

Raymond Chandler photo

“Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at all. In the end he knows all of the tricks and has nothing to say.”

Raymond Chandler (1888–1959) Novelist, screenwriter

Related topics