Some writers take to drink, others take to audiences.
Interpretation
Writers often cope with their struggles either through substance or by seeking validation from their audiences.
In this quote, Gore Vidal reflects on the diverse ways in which writers handle the pressures and challenges of their craft. Some may turn to alcohol as a form of escape, while others may seek affirmation and engagement from their audiences, suggesting that both are means of dealing with the emotional weight of writing.
In practice
In a discussion about the challenges of being a writer during a workshop.
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
The sinews of art and literature, like those of war, are money.
The writing I love has something memorable in it - an image, a smell. It's the connection between the moment and the whole concept, weaving the micro together with the macro so that it has a hold on people - that's writing.
I'm now making myself as scummy as I can. Why? I want to be a poet, and I'm working at turning myself into a seer. You won't understand any of this, and I'm almost incapable of explaining it to you. The idea is to reach the unknown by the derangement of all the senses. It involves enormous suffering, but one must be strong and be a born poet. It's really not my fault.
I love amazing people. I love dazzling them. That's why I think performing magic is one of the greatest things a person can do.
Truly great images make all the other millions of images you look at unimportant. You gotta look at an image and understand it in a nanosecond.
Jacques Tati is the great philosophical tinkerer of comedy, taking meticulous care to arrange his films so that they unfold in a series of revelations and effortless delights.
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