Writer Credibility Quotes

Really good writing, from my perspective, runs a lot like a visual on the screen. You need to create that kind of detail and have credibility with the reader, so the reader knows that you were really there, that you really experienced it, that you know the details. That comes out of seeing.

I find that when people get a script, they know within five pages if the writer can write. Once you're five pages in, it doesn't matter whose name is on the cover, you're not even thinking about it.

I think when people hear about a celebrity writing a book of any kind, the assumption is that it was dictated to a ghostwriter.

The short of it is, as an aspiring writer, there is nothing as damaging to your credibility as saying that you don't like to read.

One of my pet theories is that readers have built-in BS detectors that enable them to recognize insincerity in writers. David [Halberstam] was sincerity to the core. He believed in what he wrote, and that conviction conveyed itself to readers.

The catchword I use with my classes is: The authority of the writer always overcomes the skepticism of the reader.

What does Sinclair know about anything? He's just a writer.

The fact people think that when you sell a lot of books you are not a serious writer is a great insult to the readership. I get a little angry when people try to say such a thing.

A humorist has to be taken seriously before he's considered a real writer.

When I hear about some sensational new writer I sort of think, Shut up ... you've got to be around for a long time before you can really say you're a writer. You've got to stand the test of time, which is the only real test there is.