“I think in our time, you know, so much of the information we get is pre-polarized. Fiction has a way of reminding us that we actually are very similar in our emotions and our neurology and our desires and our fears, so I think it's a nice way to neutralize that polarization.” ThinkingKnowsWayDesireEmotionFictionNiceInformationOur TimeRemindingNeurologyPolarization Author:George Saunders
“The best thing about writing fiction is that moment where the story catches fire and comes to life on the page, and suddenly it all makes sense and you know what it's about and why you're doing it and what these people are saying and doing, and you get to feel like both the creator and the audience. Everything is suddenly both obvious and surprising ("but of course that's why he was doing that, and that means that...") and it's magic and wonderful and strange.” PeopleKnowsFeelsWritingMeanMomentsStoriesCoursesFictionAudienceFireWonderfulMagicStrangePagesObviousCreatorMake SenseBest ThingsThat MomentSurprisingWriting FictionSaying And Doing Author:Neil Gaiman
“I think a lot of kids get scared by 'E.T.' Sometimes when I do the science-fiction conventions, I'll have a 35-year-old guy with tatts and piercings all over, and he comes up and says, 'You know, it scared me so much I still can't watch it.” ThinkingKnowsYearsStillsSometimesKidsGuyFictionWatchesScience FictionScaredCome UpConventionsPiercingsOld Guys Author:Dee Wallace
“I would say that most of my books are contemporary realistic fiction... a couple, maybe three, fall into the 'historic fiction' category. Science fiction is not a favorite genre of mine, though I have greatly enjoyed some of the work of Ursula LeGuin. I haven't read much science fiction so I don't know other sci-fi authors.” KnowsBookFallThreeFictionHavensMinesCoupleScience FictionContemporaryEnjoyedGenreCategoriesRealisticSci FiHistoricRealistic Fiction Author:Lois Lowry
“I didn’t do anything. I don’t have an explanation, I don’t know why I wanted to write. I did some short stories at that time, but very infrequently. I quit my job just to quit. I didn’t quit my job to write fiction. I just didn’t want to work anymore” KnowsWantWritingStoriesWantedJobsFictionQuittingExplanationShort StoryI Quit Book:Conversations with Don DeLillo Source: Conversations with Don DeLillo
“Fiction should be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the author doesn't know the answer. What I hate in fiction is when the author knows better than the characters what they should do.” KnowsShouldCharacterHateDifficultAnswersFictionMoralI HateBloodyDilemmaMoral Dilemma Author:Pat Barker
“If you make a movie about Elizabeth I, how much of the dialogue is her real words? Audiences know when they go see a movie that it is fiction.” IfsKnowsRealFictionAudienceDialogue Author:Jean-Jacques Annaud