“I mean, there are many other directors who are probably both more skilled and excited to adapt novels or work within certain genre conventions. I'd like to do that kind of work someday, but for better or worse I'm too drawn by my own material.” KindMeanCertainMy OwnNovelMaterialsDirectorsExcitedGenreSomedayConventions Author:Todd Solondz
“I have no doubt that 'On the Road' is a Great American Novel. But I'm also certain my students will do fine without it.” CertainNovelDoubtStudentsFineNo DoubtGreat American Author:Tony D'Souza
“I have discovered a universal rule which seems to apply more than any other in all human actions or words: namely, to steer away from affectation at all costs, as if it were a rough and dangerous reef, and (to use perhaps a novel word for it) to practise in all things a certain nonchalance [sprezzatura] which conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or does seem uncontrived and effortless.” IfsHumansDoeUseSeemsActionCertainNovelDangerousCostAll ThingsUniversalRoughSteersArtistryEffortlessPractiseReefsHuman ActionsNonchalance Author:Baldassare Castiglione
“When a writer calls his work a Romance, it need hardly be observed that he wishes to claim a certain latitude, both as to its fashion and material, which he would not have felt himself entitled to assume had he professed to be writing a Novel.” NeedsWritingRomanceCertainWishFeltNovelFashionMaterialsClaimsAssumingEntitledLatitude Author:Nathaniel Hawthorne
“What initially attracted me to The Seventh Seal was that it had values and characteristics which I was familiar with in other art forms, most notably, the European novel and certain forms on English drama, and indeed, in relation to my rather academic interest in history -- not "history" in the normal sense, but history as a form of entertainment . It might be a very unfashionable view but I believe that history is an amazing bank or reserve area of plots, characterisations, extraordinary events, etc.” BelieveArtMightFormCertainValuesI BelieveInterestViewsNovelEventsDramaNormalAreasRelationExtraordinaryEntertainmentFamiliarCharacteristicsEtcPlotAcademicReservesSeals Author:Peter Greenaway
“I suppose as long as novels last, and authors aim at interesting their public, there must always be in the story a virtuous and gallant hero; a wicked monster, his opposite; and a pretty girl, who finds a champion. Bravery and virtue conquer beauty; and vice, after seeming to triumph through a certain number of pages, is sure to be discomfited in the last volume, when justice overtakes him, and honest folks come by their own.” LongStoriesLastsCertainGirlJusticeInterestingNumbersNovelVirtueHonestHeroPagesOppositesBraveryAimFolksVicesMonstersConquerTriumphChampionWickedVirtuousVolumeSeemingPretty GirlGallant Book:The four Georges. The English humorists. Roundabout papers Source: The four Georges. The English humorists. Roundabout papers
“When you write a book, you want to have fidelity to the character. Characters and their emotions guide the structure of the novel. The author is aware that there's a certain amount of information she/he has to provide in order to satisfy the reader, knowing that she/he has set something up that must be paid off, but this payment must be made while maintaining fidelity to the characters.” WantWritingMadeBookCharacterCertainOrderEmotionNovelKnowingInformationReaderAmountPaidStructureGuidesMaintainingPaymentFidelityPaid Off Author:David Bezmozgis
“A discursive student is almost certain to fall into bad company. Ten minutes with a French novel or a German rationalist have sent a reader away with a fever for life.” CertainFallReadingCompanyNovelMinutesStudentsReaderTenFeverBad Company Book:Pleasures of Literature Source: Pleasures of Literature