“I think fiction is about small ambition, small failed ambition.” ThinkingFictionAmbitionCrafts Author:Ethan Canin
“But novels are never about what they are about; that is, there is always deeper, or more general, significance. The author may not be aware of this till she is pretty far along with it. A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out what a novel is about, and the job becomes one of understanding and deepening or sharpening what is already written. That is finding the theme.” WritingMayEndsWholeJobsUnderstandingNovelWrittenFindingsPatternsDeeperCraftsThemeSignificanceSharpening Author:Diane Johnson
“Literature is composed of quarter truths, and the quarters are often spent on penny candy.” LiteratureCraftsQuartersCandyPennies Author:William H. Gass
“Change itself is what fascinates me. I am drawn, as a moth to the flame, by edge situations, by situations of metamorphosis.” SituationEdgesCraftsFlamesMetamorphosisMoths Author:Annie Proulx
“The friends that have it I do wrong Whenever I remake a song, Should know what issue is at stake: It is myself that I remake.” KnowsShouldSongFriendshipIssuesCraftsStakesRemakes Author:William Butler Yeats
“Often I'll find clues to where the story might go by figuring out where the characters would rather not go.” WritingCharacterStoriesMightCraftsClue Author:Douglas A. Lawson
“Too many poets write poems which are only difficult on the surface, difficult because the dramatic situation is easily misunderstood. It's not difficult to write poems that are misunderstood. A drunk, a three-year-old-they are easily misunderstood. What is difficult is being clear and mysterious at the same time. The dramatic situation needs to be as clear in a poem as it is in a piece of good journalism. The why is part of the mystery, but the who, what, where, and when should all be understood.” NeedsShouldWritingYearsThreeDifficultSituationClearPiecesMysteryPoetUnderstoodSurfaceDrunkMysteriousCraftsJournalismDramaticThree YearsMisunderstoodThree Year OldsGood JournalismDramatic Situations Author:Miller Williams
“The mere habit of writing, of constantly keeping at it, of never giving up, ultimately teaches you how to write.” GivingWritingTeachHabitGiving UpMereCraftsNever Giving Up Author:Gabriel Fielding
“Let your literary compositions be kept from the public eye for nine years at least.” YearsEyeLiteratureNineCraftsCompositionNine YearsPublic Eye Author:Horace