“New York doesn't exactly have neighborhoods, the way most cities do. What it has is closer to distinct and separate villages, some of them existing on different continents, some of them existing in different centuries, and many of them at war with one another. English is not the primary language in many of these villages, but the Roman alphabet does still have a slight edge.” WayDoeStillsDifferentWarLanguageCitiesCenturyNew YorkEdgesPrimariesNeighborhoodVillageContinentsAlphabet Book:What's So Funny? Source: What's So Funny?
“I don't think I ever have trouble with writer's block. It's different when you make it up as you go - that means you're going to get stuck. I wouldn't call it writer's block, I'd say, "I don't know where the hell this story is going."” ThinkingMeanDifferentHellTroubleStuckBlock Author:Donald E. Westlake
“The British were doing crime stories first, but the British thing is a very different thing. There, the stories are about restoring a break in the fabric of society. The American thing has never been worrying about breaks in the fabric of society, but about people doing their job, whether it's police procedurals or criminals or whatever.” PeopleDifferentBreakWorryCrimePolice Author:Donald E. Westlake
“One of our continuing myths was summed up in Huckleberry Finn: Our escape, what we think of as our escape, is that we can always light out for the territories. Well, we really can't, not anymore, but that's part of the American character - that belief that at any moment, I could just drop the coffee cup and disappear. And it makes for a different self-image and a different story, in a way.” ThinkingDifferentMomentsCharacterBeliefMythDisappearCoffeeCoffee CupHuckleberry Author:Donald E. Westlake
“I've had stuff of mine adapted by other people, so I've come to the conclusion that a movie is a different form from a novel and there is no such thing as a true adaptation. You have to adapt to this other thing and do it right. But that voice of the original should somehow still be there, and the original intent should still be there. So if the original writer saw the movie, the writer would say, "Well, that's not what I wrote, but that's what I meant." And if you can do that, I think you've done your job as a screenwriter.” PeopleThinkingDifferentDoneNovelConclusionAdaptation Author:Donald E. Westlake
