Tobias Wolff

One of the things that draws writers to writing is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life by writing about them.

Tobias Wolff

Reasons always came with a purpose, to give the appearance of a struggle between principle and desire. Principle had power only until you found what you had to have.

Tobias Wolff

That, for me, is a very important test of a young writer’s commitment because most of them are going to have to continue doing that when they’ve finished the program.

Tobias Wolff

The beauty of a fragment is that it still supports the hope of brilliant completeness.

Tobias Wolff

The human heart is a dark forest.

Tobias Wolff

There are writers who do start doing the same thing again and again and almost inevitably fall into self-parody.

Tobias Wolff

There’s a joy in writing short stories, a wonderful sense of reward when you pull certain things off.

Tobias Wolff

There’s no right way to tell all stories, only the right way to tell a particular story.

Tobias Wolff

They’ll die, and then they’ll be dead.

Tobias Wolff

To be a writer you need to see things as they are, and to see things as they are you need a certain basic innocence.

Tobias Wolff