"The easy answer is that writing novels is a lot more fun than practicing law"
About this Quote
By pitting “writing novels” against “practicing law,” Deaver invokes a whole American hierarchy of legitimacy. Law is credentialed, rule-bound, and socially approved; novel-writing is risk, subjectivity, and a slightly suspect kind of freedom. The sentence cuts through that moral bookkeeping with a blunt criterion - fun - as if pleasure were reason enough. Subtextually, it’s a refusal to apologize for choosing the work that makes him feel most alive, and a subtle jab at the idea that adulthood means optimizing for prestige over joy.
Context matters: Deaver is a thriller writer, a genre built on propulsion and payoff. “Fun” isn’t a frivolous word in that ecosystem; it’s the craft mandate. He’s also signaling to aspiring writers that the leap isn’t mystical. It’s comparative labor: one kind of problem-solving versus another, one set of constraints traded for a different, more exhilarating set. The line lands because it’s both relatable and slightly transgressive - it grants permission to prefer delight over decorum, while letting the audience imagine the untold “hard answer” simmering beneath.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Deaver, Jeffery. (2026, January 17). The easy answer is that writing novels is a lot more fun than practicing law. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-easy-answer-is-that-writing-novels-is-a-lot-56896/
Chicago Style
Deaver, Jeffery. "The easy answer is that writing novels is a lot more fun than practicing law." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-easy-answer-is-that-writing-novels-is-a-lot-56896/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The easy answer is that writing novels is a lot more fun than practicing law." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-easy-answer-is-that-writing-novels-is-a-lot-56896/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.


