Simone de Beauvoir Writing Quotations

The writer of originality, unless dead, is always shocking, scandalous; novelty disturbs and repels.

‎A day in which I don't write leaves a taste of ashes.

Writing is a trade ... which is learned by writing.

Writing ... is a profession that can only be learned by writing.

A man would never get the notion of writing a book on the peculiar situation of the human male.

There is not a single line in this diary that does not call for a correction or a denial...Yes: throughout these pages I meant what I was writing and I meant the opposite; reading them again I feel completely lost...I was lying to myself. How I lied to myself!

I willingly trust myself to chance. I let my thoughts wander, I digress, not only sitting at my work, but all day long, all night even. It often happens that a sentence suddenly runs through my head before I go to bed, or when I am unable to sleep, and I get up again and write it down.