In real life, coincidences happen all the time. In novels, they are leapt upon with fury.
Harlan CobenRead
There are three things that make a person a writer: inspiration, perspiration and desperation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A writer needs a blend of creativity, hard work, and a sense of urgency or need.
Harlan Coben's quote encapsulates the three essential elements that drive a person to write: inspiration, which fuels creativity; perspiration, representing the effort and dedication required to hone one's craft; and desperation, the urgent emotional drive that often motivates writers to put their thoughts into words. Together, these components highlight that writing is not merely a talent, but a complex interplay of creativity, hard work, and personal necessity.
Themes
WriterInspirationPerspirationDesperationCreativityEffort
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the writing process, one might say, 'As Harlan Coben wisely noted, there are three things that make a person a writer: inspiration, perspiration, and desperation.'
More from Harlan Coben
All quotes →The ugliest truth, in the end, was still better than the prettiest of lies.
Harlan CobenRead
When you like something and you're pretty good at it and you can make a living doing it, you don't ask why. You just count your blessings and go with it.
Harlan CobenRead
No, I don’t live in heartache. I don’t cry myself to sleep or any of that. I am, I tell myself, over it. But I do feel a void, icky as that sounds. And—like it or not—I still think about her every single day.
Harlan CobenRead
Life may not always fall into neat chapters, and you may not always get the satisfying ending you're looking for, but sometimes a good explanation is all the rewrite you need.
Harlan CobenRead
The most annoying and full- of- crap thing a writer says is, I write only for myself, I don't care if anyone reads it. A writer without a reader doesn't exist.
Harlan CobenRead
Similar quotes
A poem begins with a lump in the throat
Robert FrostRead
I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.
MichelangeloRead
The real composer thinks about his work the whole time; he is not always conscious of this, but he is aware of it later when he suddenly knows what he will do.
Igor StravinskyRead
For me, writing time has always been precious, something I wait for and am eager for and make the best use of. That's probably why I get up so early and have writing time in the quiet dawn hours, when no one needs me.
Barbara KingsolverRead
No person who is not a great sculptor or painter can be an architect. If he is not a sculptor or painter, he can only be a builder.
John RuskinRead
A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.
Lorrie MooreRead