The last paragraph in which you tell what the story is about is almost always best left out.
Irwin ShawThe romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I think a writer is a citizen of humanity, part of his nation, part of his family. He may have to make some compromises.
Irwin ShawA good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.
Irwin ShawThere are too many books I haven’t read, too many places I haven’t seen, too many memories I haven’t kept long enough.
Irwin ShawHorror would not annoy a soldier any more than the sight of a hammer annoys a carpenter. It is sentimental to pretend that horror is not the tool of the soldier, just as the hammer is the tool of the carpenter. We live off death and the threat of death and we must take it calmly and use it well.... Eventually I came to enjoy killing, as a pianist enjoys the Czerny which keeps his fingers limber for the Beethoven.
Irwin Shaw