“I don't know why I write really depressing songs. I'm a kind of melancholy guy, I suppose. But I figure I'm about normal.” KnowsWritingKindGuySongFiguresNormalMelancholyDepressingReally Depressing Author:Townes Van Zandt
“Interest in reading memoirs is universal. What has happened is that people are writing about more and more outrageous things. Our threshold for weirdness - you can't have just a normal childhood - has gone way up.” PeopleWayWritingReadingInterestGoneHappenedChildhoodNormalUniversalMemoirOutrageousThresholdWeirdness Author:Sara Nelson
“What do prisoners do? Write, of course; even if they have to use blood as ink, as the Marquis de Sade did. The reasons they write, the exquisitely frustrating restrictions of their autonomy and the fact that no one listens to their cries, are all the reasons that mentally ill people, and even many normal people write. We write to escape our prisons.” PeopleIfsWritingReasonFactsUseCoursesBloodCryNormalPrisonIllPrisonerAutonomyFrustratingInkRestrictionMentally Ill Author:Alice Weaver Flaherty
“Man tends to think that he is a creator, that he is like God. This is especially true of intellectuals, and in the last century, intellectuals tended to forget that they were like everyone else. Writing this book was a description of man going from a state of God back to a state of man, back to being a normal person.” ThinkingMenWritingPersonsBookStatesLastsForgetCenturyNormalCreatorDescription Author:Gao Xingjian
“Everyone has a bizarre childhood and unusual life experiences, whether they know it or not. There's no such thing as a normal childhood. What's useful in writing weird fiction is learning how to understand and articulate those moments of personal, particular strangeness.” KnowsWritingMomentsFictionChildhoodParticularNormalUnusualLife ExperienceBizarreStrangeness Author:Kelly Link
“Most of my work is done before we start shooting, preparation work, so my normal day begins when I start writing, it might even be the night before.” WritingDoneMightNightNormalPreparationShooting Author:Tina Fey
“My writing, I am prepared to think, may be a substitute for something I have been born without - a so-called normal relation to society. My books are my relation to society.” ThinkingWritingMayHas BeensBookBornNormalRelationPreparedSubstitutes Book:Listening in: Broadcasts, Speeches, and Interviews by Elizabeth Bowen Source: Listening in: Broadcasts, Speeches, and Interviews by Elizabeth Bowen
“I've always wanted to write energetic, atypical sentences, i.e., sentences that were not normal or bland.” WritingWantedNormalSentencesEnergeticBland Author:George Saunders
“When you're writing a movie or a play and writing isn't going well, which is for me the normal condition - it's an exceptional day when suddenly I've got something and it's going well - you can call the studio or the producer or whoever is waiting for it and say, "I know I said I was going to have it in by the end of the summer.” KnowsWritingWellsSaidEndsPlayWaitingConditionsNormalSummerStudiosProducersExceptionalEnd Of Summer Author:Aaron Sorkin
“I'm not superstitious in my normal daily life but I get that way about writing, even though I know it's all bullshit. But I began that way and so, that's the way it is. My ritual is I never use a typewriter or computer. I just write it all by hand. It's a ceremony. I go to a stationary store and buy a notebook and then fill it up.” KnowsWayWritingUseHandsNormalComputerStoresDaily LifeRitualBullshitCeremonyNotebookTypewritersSuperstitiousStationary Author:Quentin Tarantino
“The - writing is a kind of act of aggression, and a person who is not aggressive in his normal, may I say, intercourse with humanity might well be an aggressive writer.” WritingWellsKindMayPersonsMightHumanityNormalAggressiveAggressionIntercourse Author:John Updike
“I was writing poems when I was young, you know, because my father was a poet, so it was absolutely normal to follow my father.” KnowsWritingYoungFatherPoetNormalWriting Poems Author:Bernardo Bertolucci
“We're [writers] all afraid of writing badly, and there are psychological reasons, like the bad interior of ourselves is somehow being revealed, but we all fear that, and you can't write well if you're not willing to write badly. That's why you have to make writing a habit, so it feels normal and not strange.” IfsFeelsWritingWellsReasonStrangeWillingHabitNormalPsychologicalInteriors Author:Jennifer Egan
“NaNo[ National Novel Writing Month] is an awesome opportunity to stretch your writing muscles and gives you permission to write in a way you probably wouldn't do in a normal circumstance.” WayGivingWritingOpportunityNovelMonthsCircumstancesNormalMusclesPermissionNovel WritingNano Author:Michelle J. Howard
“After a year or two of keeping my head down and trying to pass myself off as a normal person, I made contact with the five other people at my university who were interested in writing; and through them, and some of my teachers, I discovered that there was a whole subterranean Wonderland of Canadian writing that was going on just out of general earshot and sight.” PeopleWritingTryingYearsPersonsMadeTwoWholeFiveTeacherNormalSightDown AndUniversityContactWonderland Author:Margaret Atwood
“Normal, day-to-day things inspire you to write. I try to travel and chill, and go out and enjoy the outdoors. That makes you see the real world. Not just in the studio or at concerts. I live it up as normal as I can.” WorldWritingTryingI CanRealEnjoyInspireNormalStudiosConcertsReal WorldDay To DayChillLive It Up Author:Prince Royce
“Sometimes I go outside after a long stretch of writing and I'm surprised it's not raining. Or that it's daylight. Or that it's not the middle of winter. I don't know if that level of immersion is normal, but it's now I do things. I like it. It works well for me.” IfsKnowsWritingWellsLongSometimesLevelsMiddleNormalRainWinterDaylightImmersion Author:Patrick Rothfuss
“My writing method is to sit in a very small hut absolutely alone. I write in total solitude. And I write on paper, on hand, and then it gets typed. Normal for me.” WritingHandsSolitudeNormalPaperMethodHuts Author:Sally Potter
“Art and writing come from somewhere down around the lizard brain. It's a much more peculiar activity than we like to think it is. The problems arise when we try to domesticate the practice, to pretend that it's a normal human activity and that "everybody's creative." They're not.” ThinkingWritingTryingHumansArtProblemBrainPracticeCreativeActivityNormalArisePeculiarHuman ActivityLizards Author:Dave Hickey
“Every time I'm home from tour I try to write some new songs, but it can get really hard trying to keep up with normal life, I always get so behind.” WritingTryingHardHomeSongBehindsNormalGet RealNormal LifeNew Songs Author:Tim Lambesis
“I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child.... My hemmings and hawings over the telephone cause long-distance callers to switch from their native English to pathetic French. At parties, if I attempt to entertain people with a good story, I have to go back to every other sentence for oral erasures and inserts.... In these circumstances nobody should ask me to submit to an interview if by "interview" a chat between two normal human beings is implied.” PeopleIfsThinkingShouldWritingHumansChildrenLongTwoStoriesAsksSpeakCausesHuman BeingsPartyGeniusCircumstancesNormalAnxietyDistanceSentencesAsk MeInterviewsNativeSubmitTelephonesPatheticDistinguishedGood StoryLong DistanceImpliedSocial AnxietyInsert Author:Vladimir Nabokov
“I try to be outraged by things that other people are just very accepting of, as though they're normal and can't be changed. A lot of what I write about is, "Hey, you know, this stuff is really awful, and it doesn't need to be, and that's why it's so offensive." Things should be better.” PeopleKnowsNeedsShouldWritingTryingStuffAcceptingChangedNormalAwfulHeyOffensiveOutragedHey You Author:Matt Taibbi
“I write every day and I just love doing it. It's just... it's just a wonderful thing. Some of my stories work, some of them don't work. Some of them are wild and I love them, but they certainly don't fit into any kind of a normal system that I know about.” KnowsWritingKindStoriesWonderfulFitNormalWonderful Things Author:Walter Mosley
“The fiction I tend to like is nothing like my own work. I like the kind of writing that shows me things I don't know about, and what I don't know about is the everyday, normal world.” KnowsWorldWritingKindShowsMy OwnFictionNormalEverydayShow Me Author:Jim Woodring
“I could never write about the sort of people John Cheever or John Updike or even Margaret Atwood write about. I don't mean I couldn't write as well as they do, which of course I couldn't; they're great writers, and I'm no writer at all. But I couldn't even write badly about normal, neurotic people. I don't know that world from the inside. That's just not my orientation.” PeopleKnowsWorldWritingWellsMeanCoursesNormalNeuroticOrientationGreat Writers Author:Jim Woodring
“The reason writers are such fragile beings, Marcus, is that they suffer from two sorts of emotional pain, which is twice as much as a normal human being: the heartache of love and the heartache of books. Writing a book is like loving someone. It can be very painful.” WritingHumansHeartTwoBookReasonPainSufferingHuman BeingsEmotionalNormalPainfulHeartacheFragileWriting A BookLoving SomeoneEmotional PainBook Writing Author:Joel Dicker
“For better or worse, most of my writing life has been about people that work behind the scenes. I'm interested in finding extraordinary moments in otherwise normal people.” PeopleWritingHas BeensMomentsBehindsSceneNormalFindingsExtraordinaryWriting LifeBehind The ScenesExtraordinary Moments Author:Mark Boal
“I always try to use my medium, and if I get into a normal sitcom-writing contest with normal sitcom writers, I'm going to lose.” IfsWritingTryingUseLosesNormalMediumsContestsSitcom Author:Dan Harmon
“I like embracing kind of normal forms but am always trying to approach them as if no one's ever done that before. As if I'm literally the first person to ever write a book.” IfsWritingTryingFirstsKindPersonsBookDoneFormNormalApproachAlways TryingFirst Person Author:Miranda July
“Obviously, this isn't my normal life, traveling to cities and talking to journalists. It's fun. It's really fun. I get to stay in a cool hotel and eat good food and meet cool people, but that's not my normal life. It's pretty pedestrian. I have coffee in the morning, I go for a run, and then I write for as long as I possibly can.” PeopleWritingLongRunningFunCitiesTalkingMorningNormalCoffeeJournalistHotelNormal LifeGood FoodPedestriansCool People Author:James Ponsoldt
“I don't sit down with a goal of writing. I read books or magazines. I watch TV. I go to the doctor. I get on airplanes. I live a normal life and sometimes I'll notice something or read things or experience things.” WritingBookSometimesGoalWatchesTvsNormalDoctorsMagazinesAirplaneNormal Life Author:Brian Regan
“The next song I wrote in Paris years ago in a dream. So I didn't really write it, the universe wrote it. And that's what I believe about music, I believe it belongs to the universe, it comes from there and it's this beautiful energy that we share that transcends normal flash existence and that we inspire each other through.” WritingYearsBelieveDreamBeautifulSongUniverseNextEnergyI BelieveExistenceShareInspireNormalYears AgoParisFlash Author:Serj Tankian
“Sometimes I don't pick up the guitar for six months or so," "Other times I get away, go to a hotel or something, to write songs. Or go stay with a friend and bring the dog and do stuff away from my normal routine. Then I sit down and play guitar at night. I do it differently every time . There is no set way.” WayWritingSometimesPlayNightSongStuffDogMonthsNormalSixPicksDown AndGuitarHotelGet AwayRoutineSix Months Author:Holly Golightly
“I don't feel quite normal if I haven't written for a while. I doubt I will ever again write anything as popular as the "Harry" books, but I can live with that thought quite easily. By the time I stop writing about Harry, I will have lived with him for 13 years, and I know it's going to feel like a bereavement. So I'll probably take some time off to grieve, and then on with the next book!” IfsKnowsFeelsWritingYearsI CanBookNextDoubtWrittenHavensNormalGrievingBereavementTime Off Author:J. K. Rowling
“I don't think it's man's function to write. I don't think it's a normal thing like teeth-brushing and going to the bathroom. It's a supered position on the animal.” ThinkingMenWritingAnimalPositionNormalFunctionTeethBathroomBrushingNormal Things Author:Rod Serling
“I grew up treating a life as a writer as a career in letters, one devoted to many kinds of writing. And so it seemed normal to study both fiction writing and the literary essay as an undergrad.” WritingKindFictionCareersStudyGrewNormalGrew UpLettersDevotedEssaysFiction Writing Author:Alexander Chee
“When I was writing Caramelo the last couple of years, a sixty-hour work week was normal. And now I'm lucky if I have eight hours.” IfsWritingYearsLastsHoursWeekCoupleLuckyNormalEightSixtyWork Week Author:Sandra Cisneros
“Much of the academy on the humanities side, English departments in particular, no longer write what can pass for normal English.” WritingHumanitySidesParticularNormalDepartmentAcademy Author:Cynthia Ozick
“Sometimes I eavesdrop on people. I could rationalize it - oh, this is good anthropological research for characters I'm writing - but it's basically just nosiness. It also helps me gauge where I'm at: Am I normal?” PeopleWritingSometimesCharacterHelpingNormalResearchHelp MeGaugesRationalize Author:Mindy Kaling
“There's something not normal about you if you're writing a book about yourself, or about anything. And if you're the kind of person who can deal with being recognized by strangers and if that's tolerable or pleasing to you, and not immediately terrifying, that's not normal either.” IfsWritingKindPersonsBookDealsNormalStrangerAbout YourselfWriting A BookTolerable Author:Anthony Bourdain
“When I have time, I write other things. I'm working on a book, I paint, I sculpt, I play with my dog, I watch television - I catch up on South Park or movies or whatever I've missed, normal stuff.” WritingBookPlayStuffWatchesDogTelevisionNormalSouthPaintParksMy Dog Author:Taylor Momsen
“One of my central approaches to writing speculative fiction is to take an absurd situation, which we presently feel is normal, and then push it to an even further absurdity. It's only in this light that we can see the reflection of the disturbing state of our present-day affairs.” FeelsWritingStatesLightFictionSituationNormalApproachReflectionAffairAbsurdAbsurdityDisturbingPresent DaySpeculative Fiction Author:Alexander Weinstein
“Trying to make your own sound is hard. When I was producing for other artists, I could just produce and write songs as a normal songwriter, and almost make them generic. The artists themselves, whoever is singing that song, can put their own twist on it. When it came to my own material, I had to really dig deep, because I was just writing generic stuff. It sounded like everybody else, like Justin Timberlake, like Usher. I never wanted to sound like someone, that's when you know it's not going to work.” KnowsWritingTryingHardWantedArtistSongStuffSoundMy OwnProduceMaterialsNormalSingingSongwritersGoing To WorkTwistsJustinDig DeepGeneric Author:Karl Wolf
“Despite my critical take on the city, I love Delhi, on the whole - love its monuments, love how easily graspable the city's turbulent history is. The negative things I write about are considered normal here.” WritingWholeCitiesNormalNegativeCriticalDespiteMonumentDelhi Author:Karan Mahajan
“I love doing normal things - movies, shopping, going out with friends, writing, reading, taking hot bubble baths - that's a big one for relaxation. I also love to go to art and history museums.” WritingArtBigsReadingNormalHotMuseumsShoppingBubblesGoing OutRelaxationBathsNormal ThingsBubble Bath Author:Christina Aguilera
“When forced to leave my house for an extended period of time, I take my typewriter with me, and together we endure the wretchedness of passing through the X-ray scanner. The laptops roll merrily down the belt, while I’m instructed to stand aside and open my bag. To me it seems like a normal enough thing to be carrying, but the typewriter’s declining popularity arouses suspicion and I wind up eliciting the sort of reaction one might expect when traveling with a cannon. It’s a typewriter,’ I say. ‘You use it to write angry letters to airport security.” WritingEnoughUseSeemsMightTogetherHouseSecurityWindPeriodsNormalLettersAngryEndureReactionsPassingPassingsBagsRaysSuspicionPopularityAirportsBeltsTypewritersLaptopsCannonsPassing ThroughWretchednessAirport Security Book:Me Talk Pretty One Day Source: Me Talk Pretty One Day