I probably would have gone the M.F.A. route except I was a dad at 19, and it made more sense to go to work for a newspaper and support a kid that way. But the funny thing is, that detour became the most important step in my developing as a novelist. Jess Walter Read Quote
I’m a writer, and the subject is less important than the act of writing itself. Jess Walter Read Quote
Forget being ‘discovered.’ All you can do is write. If you write well enough, and are stubborn enough to embrace failure, and if you happen to fall into the narrow categories that the book market recognizes, then you might make a little money. Otherwise, it’s a struggle. A gorgeous struggle. Jess Walter Read Quote
The first seven years that I wrote fiction, I sent out stories and a novel and made a total of $25. Jess Walter Read Quote
Often, the fact that I haven’t done something as a writer is all the reason I need to try it. Jess Walter Read Quote
I cling to the idea that Herman Melville had to work at the end of his career watching ships in a dock, as a shipping agent in New York. Any writer who thinks they should be given patronage because of their gift… you don’t have to look too far in history to see that’s just not the case. Jess Walter Read Quote
People sometimes ask who I would cast in my books and I never have any idea. I don’t think I could ever write a book thinking of it as a movie the whole time. This would be like building a house and filling it with furniture just so you could have blueprints. Jess Walter Read Quote
I think most Hollywood meetings are silly and I truly despise pitching. It’s insane to expect someone to come in and tell you the story before they’ve written it, and buying an idea from someone who can explain it rather than write it is like choosing a mechanic based on his ability to draw a picture of your car’s problem. Jess Walter Read Quote