Quotessence
Home / Authors / Gary Shteyngart
Gary Shteyngart

Gary Shteyngart Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsBookWritingAmericaThinkingPeopleMenRussiaFeelsLifeChildrenReadingWayWorldFirstsKnowsCollegeFictionHumansLasts

Famous Gary Shteyngart Quotes

“There's no present left. This is the problem for a novelist. [The problem] is the present is gone. We're all living in the future constantly . . . Back in the day Leo Tolstoy -- what a sweetheart of a count and of a writer -- in the 1860's he wanted to write about the Napoleonic Campaign, about 1812. If you write about 1812 in 1860, a horse is still a horse. A carriage is still a carriage. Obviously, there are been some technological advancements, et cetera, but you don't have to worry about explaining the next killer [iPhone] app or the next Facebook because right now things are happening so quickly. ("Gary Shteyngart: Finding 'Love' In A Dismal Future", NPR interview, August 2, 2010)”

WritingTimeFuturePresent
Author:Gary Shteyngart
Create image

“Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean you have to write for the Academy. Be true to your personality. Don't temper your personality down with words. Don't build defensive fortresses around yourself with words - words are your friends.”

WritingFirstsMeanProblemBigsYoungAdvicePersonalityBeing TrueTemperAcademyPretentiousBig ProblemsFortressesYoung Writers
Author:Gary Shteyngart
Create image

“After you publish a book, you become a writer and you're supposed to take it very seriously. You're supposed to show up at your desk - although frankly, I don't have a desk, I write in bed - you're supposed to show up at your bed and produce work. I think it's a little bit like work. I like to have fun with it, do things like make silly book trailers. I don't want to take this too seriously.”

ThinkingWritingBookFunSillyHaving FunPublish
Author:Gary Shteyngart
Create image