In every author let us distinguish the man from his works.
Voltaire

In the past I have declined to comment on my own work: because, it seems to me, a poem is what it is; because a poem is itself a definition, and to try to redefine it is to be apt to falsify it; and because the author is the person least able to consider his work objectively.
James Schuyler

In the works of man, everything is as poor as its author; vision is confined, means are limited, scope is restricted, movements are labored, and results are humdrum.
Joseph de Maistre

In writing the history of a disease, every philosophical hypothesis whatsoever, that has previously occupied the mind of the author, should lie in abeyance.
Thomas Sydenham

It appears a bold thing to say so when one sees how much many a modern author who knows how to make a skilful use of the Book of Chronicles has to tell about the tabernacle.
Julius Wellhausen

It can certainly happen that characters in more sophisticated stories can "take over" as they develop and change the author's original ideas. Well, it certainly happens to me at times.
Margaret Mahy

It is conceivable that what is unified form to the author or composer may of necessity be formless to his audience.
Charles Ives

It seems to me that an author who has determined very new domains in literature is Gertrude Stein.
Raymond Queneau

Life is the most versatile thing under the sun; and in the pursuit of life and character the author who works in a groove works in blinkers.
Laurence Housman

Like the philosopher, the author views his task as one of establishing a clear connection between life and history, and of making the past bear fruit for the present and future.
Lion Feuchtwanger

Literary critics, however, frequently suffer from a curious belief that every author longs to extend the boundaries of literary art, wants to explore new dimensions of the human spirit, and if he doesn't, he should be ashamed of himself.
Robertson Davies

Making a book is a craft, like making a clock; it needs more than native wit to be an author.
Jean de la Bruyere

My parents were horrified when I told them I wanted to be an author.
Lloyd Alexander

No author ever drew a character consistent to human nature, but he was forced to ascribe to it many inconsistencies.
Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

No author has created with less emphasis such pathetic characters as Chekhov has.
Vladimir Nabokov

No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. She will not want new fashions nor regret the loss of expensive diversions or variety of company if she can be amused with an author in her closet.
Mary Wortley

No, it's not a very good story - its author was too busy listening to other voices to listen as closely as he should have to the one coming from inside.
Stephen King

Now I'm not an author, I'm a writer, that's all I am.
Mickey Spillane

Now, Venus is an extremely hostile environment, and as such presents a lot of challenges for a science fiction author who wants to create life there. However, as I began to research it more thoroughly, I found myself intrigued by the possibilities the world offers.
Sarah Zettel

Oh, I think every author is inspired by all of the books that she reads.
Cornelia Funke