J.I.D Quotes

Good writing of course requires talent, and no one can teach you to have talent.

I've figured out in the course of my life that the one thing I'm good at doing is writing books, and it would be crazy to trade that in for something else.

And writing I think is a gift that you have, the same as acting, in a way.

I can still put down some pretty nasty stuff on paper, which is what I enjoy doing.

A lot of people ask me, 'Are you born a writer?' And I don't think it's necessarily true. I just think what you either have or you don't is this ability to see something that's complex and worth talking about.

I didn't set out to write. It was just something I always could do. Teachers would say, 'you really have this gift,' but I just didn't care.

I think if you feel like you were born to write, then you probably were.

I've written many nonfiction books, but that's a special gift.

I have always thought that writers come with any variety of attributes. Some are capable and some aren't.

English of course is your major tool, but it is not nearly so important as other aspects of writing for example you have to have some natural ability you can't buy it no one puts it there you're born with it.

Real seriousness in regard to writing being one of the two absolute necessities. The other, unfortunately, is talent.

There are seldom more than a couple of students in any workshop who seem natural writers.

Writers - all writers, even screenwriters - like to make their mark. I don't think many screenwriters can write. They pass as writers.

I think writing is such a great talent, and if I was better, I would love to be a writer.

Humans are very complex; I definitely have a new respect for authors that are able to write books nonstop. It's an incredible talent.

I think you can be taught to write. You can't be taught to be a good writer. For that, you have to bring something to it, yourself, something that can't be given to you.

Most writers can write, most rock 'n rollers cannot.

A person who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.

I'm not a writer. I think I can write short stories and poetry, but film writing, brilliant film writing, is a talent - you can't just do it like that.

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing about craft. I just wanted to become good at the art of something. And writing was very private.

However great a man's natural talent may be, the act of writing cannot be learned all at once.

Writing is writing. It's an abiding, wonderful talent, craft, gift that stays with you your whole life. And you can go in different forms, and you can try them. Look at me: I'm writing novels because I found something I love because I tried it.

If you give me a typewriter and I'm having a good day, I can write a scene that will astonish its readers. That will perhaps make them laugh, perhaps make them cry - that will have some emotional clout to it. It doesn't cost much to do that.

We like to think about how smart we are. But I think talent as a writer is hard-wired in, it's all there, at least the basic elements of it. You can't change it any more than you can choose whether to be right handed or left handed.

One doesn't choose to become a writer. One is just born that way.