James Jones (b. November 6): “I write to reach eternity” & other quotes on writing

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James Jones (born 6 November 1921, died 9 May 1977) was an American author who won the 1952 National Book Award for his first published novel, From Here to Eternity, adapted for film and made into a television series a generation later.

Quotes on writing:

I write to reach eternity.
Old soldiers never die, they write novels.
Having a little talent as a writer is like having a little talent as a brain surgeon.
The quality which makes man want to write and be read is essentially a desire for self-exposure and masochism.
You have to really work at it to write. I guess there has to be talent first; but even with talent you still have to work at it.
I believe it is good for an American writer to get outside his country — outside his continent — and see it from a vantage point outside its pervading emotional climate.
I think that a classic style in writing tends to remove the reader one level from the immediacy of the experience. For any normal reader, I think a colloquial style makes him feel more as though he is within the action, instead of just reading about it.