Quote

If a young aspirant had a modicum of skill and a busy typewriter she or he would sooner or later get a foothold in one of the magazines and a leaping start on the ladder upward.

James A. Michener

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

James A. Michener
Age: 90 †
Born: 1907
Born: February 3
Died: 1997
Died: October 16
Author
Autobiographer
Military Officer
Novelist
Screenwriter
Writer
New York City
New York
James Albert Michener
James Michener
Typewriter
Busy
Typewriters
Later
Skills
Upward
Start
Ladder
Aspirant
Young
Ladders
Foothold
Writing
Sooner
Modicum
Would
Skill
Leaping
Magazines

More quotes by James A. Michener

Image
I think the bottom line is that if you get through a childhood like mine, it's not at all bad. Obviously, you come out a pretty tough turkey, and you have had all the inoculations you need to keep you on a level keel for the rest of your life. The sad part is, most of us don't come out.
James A. Michener
Image
A writer can make a fortune in America, but he can't make a living.
James A. Michener
Image
I had been educated with free scholarships. I went to nine different universities, always at public expense, and when you have that experience, you are almost obligated to give it back. It's as simple as that.
James A. Michener
Image
I don’t know who my parents were. I know nothing about my inheritance. I could be Jewish I could be part Negro I could be Irish I could be Russian. I am spiritually a mix anyway, but I did have a solid childhood fortunately, because of some wonderful women who brought me up. I never had a father or a man in the house, and that was a loss...
James A. Michener
Image
In six pages, I can't even say Hello.
James A. Michener
Image
The permanent temptation of life is to confuse dreams with reality. The permanent defeat of life comes when dreams are surrendered to reality.
James A. Michener
Image
You don't fight to protect warships or old men. Like the book says, you fight to save your civilization. And so often it seems that civilization is composed mainly of the things women and children want.
James A. Michener
Image
During my lifetime I have met dozens of writers and photographers in dozens of different countries. But I have encountered no one who could both write and photograph with the artistry of Robert Vavra.
James A. Michener
Image
I've spent my life trying to be better than I was, and I am a brother to all who share the same aspiration.
James A. Michener
Image
In a small Polish farm community, during the fall planting season of 1981, events occurred which electrified the world, sending reverberations of magnitude to capitals as diverse as Washington, Peking and especially Moscow.
James A. Michener
Image
No invader has ever conquered the heart of Poland, that spirit which is the inheritance of sons and daughters, the private passion of families and the ancient, unbreakable tie to all those who came before.
James A. Michener
Image
I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's great rewriters.
James A. Michener
Image
The really great writers are people like Emily Brontë who sit in a room and write out of their limited experience and unlimited imagination.
James A. Michener
Image
The sense of belonging is one of the great gifts men get in battle.
James A. Michener
Image
The arrogance of the artist is a very profound thing, and it fortifies you.
James A. Michener
Image
An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.
James A. Michener
Image
The extreme geniality of San Francisco's economic, intellectual and political climate makes it the most varied and challenging city in the United States.
James A. Michener
Image
Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.
James A. Michener
Image
All I can do is play the game the way the cards fall.
James A. Michener
Image
As a writer I have persisted in my uncertainty, alternating between novels which could charitably be considered literature and world reporting which by another stretch of objective standards might be called history.
James A. Michener