Barbara Tuchman Writing Quotations

If I had taken a doctoral degree, it would have stifled any writing capacity.

I want the reader to turn the page and keep on turning to the end.

Nothing is more satisfying than to write a good sentence. It is no fun to write lumpishly, dully, in prose the reader must plod through like wet sand. But it is a pleasure to achieve, if one can, a clear running prose that is simple yet full of surprises. This does not just happen. It requires skill, hard work, a good ear, and continued practice.

An essential element for good writing is a good ear: One must listen to the sound of one's own prose.

I have always been in a condition in which I cannot not write.

Nothing is more satisfying than to write a good sentence.