“Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at that moment, all the mysteries of the universe.” BookMomentsPastUniverseMysteryReaderThat MomentSuspects Book:How Reading Changed My Life Source: How Reading Changed My Life
“I must confess that I'm not a great reader. At the moment I'm reading my son's 'Stig of the Dump' by Clive King and I've got a plant catalogue on the go.” MomentsReadingSonReaderKingsPlantMy SonDumpCataloguesStig Author:Sophie Thompson
“It is a little out of touch to presume that someone wants to follow your every observation and insight over the course of hundreds of pages without any sort of payoff. That's why writing isn't a one-way street. You have to give something back: an interesting plot, a surprise, a laugh, a moment of tenderness, a mystery for the reader to piece together.” WayWantGivingWritingLittlesMomentsTogetherCoursesInterestingLaughingPiecesMysteryStreetsReaderPagesSurpriseInsightObservationOne WayPlotTendernessPayoff Author:Christopher Bollen
“My books are based on the "what if" principle. "What if you became invisible?" or "What if you did change into your mother for one day?" I then take it from there. Each book takes several months in the long process of writing, rewriting, writing, rewriting, and each has its own set of problems. The one thing I dislike about the writing process is the sometimes-loneliness of it all. Readers only get to see the glamour part of a bound book, not some of the agonizing moments one has while constructing it.” IfsWritingLongBookSometimesMomentsProblemMotherProcessPrinciplesOne ThingLonelinessMonthsReaderOne DayBoundsInvisibleWhat IfDislikeWriting ProcessGlamourRewritingAgonizing Author:Mary Rodgers
“It is precisely the sort of thing I am always trying to do in my writing -- to present my unhappy reader with a wide-ranged chaos -- of actions and reactions, thoughts, memories and feelings -- in the vain hope that at the end he will see that the whole thing represents only one moment, one feeling, one person. A raging, trumpeting jungle of associations, and then I announce at the end of it, with a gesture of despair, "This is I!” WritingTryingPersonsEndsWholeMomentsFeelingsActionMemoriesReaderDespairChaosWideRageUnhappyReactionsVainAssociationGesturesJungleAlways TryingAction And Reaction Book:Blue Voyage: A Novel Source: Blue Voyage: A Novel
“Something about the possession of a book - an object that can contain infinite fables, words of wisdom, chronicles of times gone by, humorous anecdotes and divine revelation - endows the reader with the power of creating a story, and the listener with a sense of being present at the moment of creation.” BookMomentsStoriesGoneCreationObjectsDivineReaderWords Of WisdomCreatingHumorousInfinitePossessionRevelationsListenersFablesAnecdotesChroniclesDivine RevelationTimes Gone By Author:Alberto Manguel
“One of the greatest sins in any story is false suspense. The kind of 'suspense' that disintegrates the moment you give your reader one second to think about it. And it's an easy trap to fall into, so watch carefully for it. If your story hinges on the question, 'Will Superman be pushed so far in his battle against Lex Luthor that he'll have to kill him?', or if your big cliffhanger moment is, 'Wow, is Spider-Man really dead this time?', then I understand Food Lion is hiring.” IfsThinkingMenGivingKindBookMomentsStoriesBigsFallEasySinWatchesReaderBattleComicSuspenseLionsWowTrapsComic BookSpidersHiringHingesSpider ManCliffhanger Author:Mark Waid
“Richard Christian Matheson is a master of compression. He knows how to catch a moment in words and convey it straight to the reader's heart.” KnowsHeartMomentsChristianKnow HowMastersReaderCompression Author:Clive Barker