You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to struggle for a place in the world; that is already reserved for them.
Tobias WolffRead
Of course it's why you want to become a writer - because you have the liberty to do that, but once you have the liberty you also have the obligation to do it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being a writer brings both freedom and responsibility.
This quote emphasizes that the act of writing offers creative freedom, yet with that freedom comes the responsibility to engage meaningfully in the craft. Writers are not only free to express their thoughts but are also obliged to contribute thoughtfully to the literary world and society.
Themes
WriterLibertyObligationResponsibilityCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on creative writing, one might use this quote to inspire students about the importance of their craft.
More from Tobias Wolff
All quotes →You don't teach information in a writing workshop.
Tobias WolffRead
Because I don't have to be careful of people's feelings when I teach literature, and I do when I'm teaching writing.
Tobias WolffRead
It's probably why I'm a short story writer. I tend to remember things in the past in narrative form, in story form, and I grew up around people who told stories all the time.
Tobias WolffRead
Like so many writers I started writing stories because I didn't have much time for anything else.
Tobias WolffRead
I believe that the short story is as different a form from the novel as poetry is, and the best stories seem to me to be perhaps closer in spirit to poetry than to novels.
Tobias WolffRead
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I think the more the listener can contribute to the song, the better; the more they become part of the song, and they fill in the blanks. Rather than tell them everything, you save your details for things that exist. Like what color the ashtray is. How far away the doorway was. So when you're talking about intangible things like emotions, the listener can fill in the blanks and you just draw the foundation.
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People often ask me how long it takes me to write a play, and I tell them 'all of my life.'
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So What or Kind of Blue were done in that era, the right hour, the right day. It's over; it's on the record.
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