We are taking the week off, but each day posting a quote about writing to spark discussion. So discuss!
“You must avoid giving hostages to fortune, like getting an expensive wife, an expensive house, and a style of living that never lets you afford the time to take the chance to write what you wish.” β Irwin Shaw
Source: Writers on Writing (1990, Running Press, ed. John Winokur)
Thanks for this reminder. I’ve heard the expression “hostages to fortune” before, but never knew its source or context.
Oh, I don’t know. If I had a few servants around, I’d have MORE time for writing. π
I think for most people, the “hostage to fortune” element is failing to put the writing first. For example, it could be someone who feels they never have time to write because they have to spend all their time earning a living and raising their kids. I think that’s a much more commonplace scenario than an “expensive wife.” Nancy, you’re right–women writers probably wouldn’t go for an “expensive husband.” A bevy of servants would do just fine.
I regret spending too much time writing when my boys were growing up. Nothing is more important than family and that chapter will always wait until after a fishing trip or a little league game or shooting a possum in the hen house.
Agreed, family first. I have all my lifetime to write, but only a few years with my kids while they are still kids.