Quotessence
Home / Authors / Rod Serling
Rod Serling

Rod Serling Quotes

Screenwriter

Filter quotes by topic

AllTwilight ZoneWritingIfsMenThinkingKnowsPeopleWantTelevisionTwilightZoneFirstsHumansWrittenLittlesWayEarthMajorsPositionDifferent

Famous Rod Serling Quotes

“I suppose we think euphemistically that all writers write because they have something to say that is truthful and honest and pointed and important. And I suppose I subscribe to that, too. But God knows when I look back over thirty years of professional writing, I'm hard-pressed to come up with anything that's important. Some things are literate, some things are interesting, some things are classy, but very damn little is important.”

ThinkingKnowsWritingYearsLooksLittlesImportantHardInterestingHonestCome UpDamnThirtyTruthfulGod KnowsThirty YearsProfessional Writing
Author:Rod Serling
Create image

“When I first went into freelancing, I think there was a period of about eight months when nothing happened. Everything that I wrote crumbled up, and then it became a self-destructive thing - when you begin to doubt yourself, when doubt turns into - it's sort of like impotence. Once impotent, you're forever impotent. Because you're always worried about being impotent.”

ThinkingFirstsSelfTurnsForeverDoubtHappenedMonthsPeriodsEightThings HappenWorriedDestructiveImpotenceSelf Destructive
Author:Rod Serling
Create image

“I think Willa Cather did a short story called "Paul's Case," and in it, when he finally commits suicide, it says, "He surrendered to the black design of things." And that's what I anticipate death will be: a totally unconscious void in which you float through eternity with no particular consciousness of anything. I think once around is enough. I don't want to start it all over again.”

ThinkingWantEnoughStoriesBlackConsciousnessCasesDesignParticularEternitySuicideCommitUnconsciousShort StoryVoidFloatsAnticipate
Author:Rod Serling
Create image

“I don't think playing it safe constitutes a retreat, necessarily. In other words, I don't think if, by playing safe he means we are not going to delve into controversy, then if that's what he means he's quite right. I'm not going to delve into controversy. Somebody asked me the other day if this means that I'm going to be a meek conformist, and my answer is no. I'm just acting the role of a tired non-conformist.”

IfsThinkingMeanAnswersActingRolesSafeTiredRetreatControversyMeekConformistPlaying It SafeNon Conformist
Author:Rod Serling
Create image

“I think the destiny of all men is not to sit in the rubble of their own making but to reach out for an ultimate perfection which is to be had. At the moment, it is a dream. But as of the moment we clasp hands with our neighbor, we build the first span to bridge the gap between the young and the old. At this hour, it’s a wish. But we have it within our power to make it a reality. If you want to prove that God is not dead, first prove that man is alive.”

IfsThinkingMenWantFirstsMomentsDreamHandsRealityYoungWishHoursDestinyAliveProvePerfectionUltimateNeighborBridgesGapsReach OutRubble
Author:Rod Serling
Create image