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Emma Donoghue

Emma Donoghue Quotes

Playwright

Emma Donoghue is an Irish-Canadian author renowned for her plays and novels. Her works are celebrated for their deep psychological insights and unique narrative style. Born on October 24, 1969, Donoghue's plays have been performed in several countries, and her novels have been translated into multiple languages.

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All Book Knows Writing Thinking Way People Rooms Stories Film Ifs World Novel Parent Sometimes Want Littles Situation Wells Bits Kids

Famous Emma Donoghue Quotes

“I was not exploiting any real individual's story in writing ROOM, of course I was aware that my novel, by commenting on such situations, would run the risk of falling into those traps of voyeurism, sensationalism and sentimentality.”

Writing Real Stories Running Fall Courses Individual Rooms Situation Novel Risk Traps Sentimentality Sensationalism

Author:Emma Donoghue

“I've been in a long and happy relationship for 22 years and it's never inspired me to write anything. It's too good - nothing to say. Problems, conflict, that's what makes for good stories.”

Writing Years Long Stories Problem Conflict Inspired Good Story Happy Relationship

Author:Emma Donoghue

“I read a lot of social history. If I'm in an art gallery and a picture intrigues me, I immediately write down the title and I google it. I do a lot of googling and looking out for good stories. I can almost smell them sometimes.”

Ifs Writing Art I Can Sometimes Stories Social Smell Titles Google Intrigue Gallery Good Story Art Galleries Social History

Author:Emma Donoghue

“When people write to me with stories, they are never ones that work for me. There's something mysterious about which ones catch you.”

People Writing Stories Mysterious

Author:Emma Donoghue

“The film world is far more male-dominated. I mean, the numbers are staggering at the level of how many people on set there are, and almost all the trades in film, there's a lot more men. So I can see without anyone intending to be biased [that] we have kind of a collective choosing of men's stories and a collective of taking men's stories seriously.”

People Men World Kind Mean I Can Stories Film Levels Numbers Trade Males Collectives Biased Staggering

Author:Emma Donoghue

“I think I read Susan Brownmiller's classic book called "Femininity" when I was about 16. So yeah, it's been part of my mindset since a very early age. To me, what's crucial is to tell women's stories but also to tell them in a way that is fearless.”

Thinking Way Book Stories Age Yeah Mindset Fearless Classic Crucial Femininity Classic Book

Author:Emma Donoghue

“I actually tried to think of the story [Room] in gender-neutral terms at first and said to myself, "OK, would this work if it were a man?" Well no, you can't make a man pregnant, so it's got to be a woman.”

Ifs Thinking Men Firsts Wells Said Stories Term Rooms Gender Pregnant

Author:Emma Donoghue

“For all the books in his possession, he still failed to read the stories written plain as day in the faces of the people around him.”

People Stills Book Stories Faces Written Possession

Book:Slammerkin

Source: Slammerkin

“Stories are a different kind of true.”

Writing Kind Different Stories Truth Storytelling Different Kinds Screenwriters

Book:Room: Picador Classic

Source: Room: Picador Classic

“Everyone's got a different story.”

Different Stories

Book:Room: Picador Classic

Source: Room: Picador Classic

“This is a bad story.” “Sorry. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have told you.” “No, you should,” I say. “But—” “I don’t want there to be bad stories and me not know them.”

Knows Want Should Stories Sorry Should I

Book:Room: Picador Classic

Source: Room: Picador Classic

“Writing stories is my way of scratching that itch: my escape from the claustrophobia of individuality. It lets me, at least for a while, live more than one life, walk more than one path. Reading, of course, can do the same.”

Way Writing Stories Courses Reading Can Do Walks Path Let Me Individuality My Way Writing Stories Claustrophobia

Author:Emma Donoghue

“The great thing about a short story is that it doesn't have to trawl through someone's whole life; it can come in glancingly from the side.”

Whole Stories Sides Whole Life Great Things Insightful Short Story

Author:Emma Donoghue

About the Author

Born: October 24, 1969
Known for: Playwright
Quotes: 155

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Books & Sources

Room: Picador ClassicRelated source material

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