Curiously, the united states is full of writers who have one big work in their life and that’s all. — Irwin Shaw
Ernest hemingway did a great deal toward making the writer an acceptable public figure; obviously, he was no sissy. — Irwin Shaw
Every novelist has a different purpose – and often several purposes which might even be contradictory. — Irwin Shaw
In america, we have the feeling of the doomed young artist. Fitzgerald was the great example of that. — Irwin Shaw
In the theater, characters have to cut the umbilical cord from the writer and talk in their own voices. — Irwin Shaw
My attitudes have changed, but somebody would have to read all my books to find out how they have. — Irwin Shaw
My views naturally have mellowed. Most of the critics have been more or less nice to me. — Irwin Shaw
No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if he doesn’t get paid. — Irwin Shaw
Posterity makes the judgments. There are going to be a lot of surprises in store for everybody. — Irwin Shaw
The great writers just kept bringing them out. They didn’t care if they repeated themselves. — Irwin Shaw
The last paragraph, in which you tell what the story is about, is almost always best left out. — Irwin Shaw
When I started out in the early 1930s, there were a great many magazines that published short stories. — Irwin Shaw
You must avoid giving hostages to fortune, like getting an expensive wife, an expensive house — Irwin Shaw
A good editor understands what you’re talking and writing about and doesn’t meddle too much. — Irwin Shaw
All writers are the same – they forget a thousand good reviews and remember one bad one. — Irwin Shaw