123 Quotes by Ben Fountain

I never listen to music when I’m writing.

I took two fiction-writing courses in college and majored in literature. I felt that I had a knack though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a talent. But it scared me. I felt it was a childish thing wanting to write and that I would forget about it eventually.

I got brilliant stories from people who’d never set foot in an MFA program and had published very little, and terrible stories from people who’d published a lot and had all the credentials. It was all over the map and that was part of the fun.

It took me 10 years to write a story that pleased me – that I could look at after it was published and not cringe.

I’m ashamed and embarrassed to say that I’ve read very little of David Foster Wallace’s work. It’s a huge gap in my education, one of many.

If a bullet’s going to get you, it’s already been fired.

I think if you spend much time dwelling on influence you can get self-conscious about every line you write. That’s a great way to freeze up.

Ultimately, culture, secular and otherwise, is a collection of survival strategies. The things that look like decoration – poetry, novels, music, dancing – if you strip away all the layers, are mechanisms for coping, surviving, understanding.

Society may not need you, strictly speaking, but some sort of use can usually be found.