Quotessence
Home / Authors / John Dufresne
John Dufresne

John Dufresne Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllStoriesWritingFictionCharacterIfsKnowsFirstsGossipJobsLove IsNovelPersonsPleasureReadingSocialThinkingWorldCareersCreativeDone

Famous John Dufresne Quotes

“Love is anticipation and memory, uncertainty and longing. It’s unreasonable, of course. Nothing begins with so much excitement and hope and pleasure as love, except maybe writing a story. And nothing fails as often, except writing stories. And like a story, love must be troubled to be interesting.”

WritingStoriesCoursesMemoriesLove IsPleasureInterestingFailingLongingUncertaintyExcitementAnticipationUnreasonableWriting Stories
Book:Love Warps the Mind a Little: A Novel
Create image

“We read novels because we need stories; we crave them; we can’t live without telling them and hearing them. Stories are how we make sense of our lives and of the world. When we’re distressed and go to therapy, our therapist’s job is to help us tell our story. Life doesn’t come with plots; it’s messy and chaotic; life is one damn, inexplicable thing after another. And we can’t have that. We insist on meaning. And so we tell stories so that our lives make sense.”

WorldNeedsHelpingStoriesJobsLife IsNovelOur LivesHearingMake SenseTherapyDamnPlotCraveMessyChaoticTherapistsInexplicable
Book:Is Life Like This?: A Guide to Writing Your First Novel in Six Months
Create image

“Reading honest literature makes you love the world. Knowledge and understanding are love. Reading educates our feelings and enhances our sympathy. When you read for understanding, you are fundamentally changed. You are a different person at the end of the story or the novel than you were when it began.”

WorldPersonsDifferentEndsStoriesFeelingsReadingLiteratureUnderstandingNovelHonestChangedEducateLove Of ReadingKnowledge And UnderstandingUnderstanding You
Author:John Dufresne
Create image