"The easy answer is that writing novels is a lot more fun than practicing law"
About this Quote
Deaver’s line pretends to be modest, but it’s really a quiet flex: the “easy answer” frames what follows as obvious, almost self-evident, while hinting there’s a harder answer he’s choosing not to perform for you. That sleight of hand is the point. He’s not delivering a manifesto about Art; he’s disarming the question that trails every career switch from a “serious” profession to a creative one: Why would you leave stability?
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.
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 |
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