Quotessence
Home / Authors / T.C. Boyle
T.C. Boyle

T.C. Boyle Quotes

Novelist

Filter quotes by topic

AllStoriesWritingThinkingIfsBookKnowsLiteratureWayArtCourses

Famous T.C. Boyle Quotes

“Music is, by far, the best art. Nothing even comes close. It's so immediate and emotional. In writing, maybe ninety percent of it is the unconscious and ten percent is control. In music, I think it's probably more like ninety-nine percent the unconscious. It's just a beautiful thing happening through you. And so, too, is writing a great story.”

ThinkingWritingArtStoriesBeautifulEmotionalTenMusic IsHappeningsPercentThings HappenNineUnconsciousBeautiful ThingsNinetyNinety NineBest Art
Author:T.C. Boyle
Create image

“I don't think we need a critic to negotiate with the audience. People say, "Who are you writing for?" I'm writing for myself but my audience is anybody who knows how to read. I think a story should engage anybody who knows how to read. And I hope that my stories do, maybe on a different level for more sophisticated readers than, say, a high school kid, but still a story has got to grab you. That's why we read it.”

PeopleThinkingKnowsNeedsShouldWritingStillsDifferentStoriesKidsSchoolLevelsAudienceKnow HowReaderHigh SchoolCriticsSophisticatedDifferent Levels
Author:T.C. Boyle
Create image

“I have an idea and a first line -- and that suggests the rest of it. I have little concept of what I’m going to say, or where it’s going. I have some idea of how long it’s going to be -- but not what will happen or what the themes will be. That’s the intrigue of doing it -- it’s a process of discovery. You get to discover what you’re going to say and what it’s going to mean.”

FirstsMeanLittlesLongIdeasHappensProcessLinesConceptsDiscoveryThemeIntrigue
Author:T.C. Boyle
Create image

“In order to create you have to believe in your ability to do so and that often means excluding whole chunks of normal life, and, of course, pumping yourself up as much as possible as a way of keeping on. Sort of cheering for yourself in the great football stadium of life." (Barnes & Noble Review, email dialogue with Cameron Martin, Feb. 09, 2009)”

WayBelieveMeanWholeOrderCoursesAbilityFootballNormalNobleDialogueReviewsCheerBelieve In YouEmailStadiumsNormal LifeChunksCameronGreat Football
Author:T.C. Boyle
Create image