Best novel & can-do Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“Dialogue that is written in dialect is very tiring to read. If you can do it brilliantly, fine. If other writers read your work and rave about your use of dialect, go for it. But be positive that you do it well, because otherwise it is a lot of work to read short stories or novels that are written in dialect. It makes our necks feel funny.”

Ifs Feels Writing Wells Stories Use Can Do Novel Written Fine Dialogue Necks Short Story You Can Do It Tire Being Positive Dialect Rave

Author:Anne Lamott

“You can't do science in a novel, but you can do philosophy. Or, if you're really lucky, you can manage to pose a question in such a way that other people will take it on.”

People Ifs Way Philosophy Can Do Novel Lucky Manage Lucky You

Author:Scarlett Thomas

“People think that because a novel's invented, it isn't true. Exactly the reverse is the case. Biography and memoirs can never be wholly true, since they cannot include every conceivable circumstance of what happened. The novel can do that.”

People Thinking Can Do Cases Novel Happened Circumstances Memoir Reverse Biographies

Book:Hearing Secret Harmonies: Book 12 of A Dance to the Music of Time

Source: Hearing Secret Harmonies: Book 12 of A Dance to the Music of Time

“I think readers appreciate those of us who stay in the trenches and fight the good fight even when times get tough. I know that I, personally, lost respect for writers who, when there was a downturn in the market, started shouting from the rooftops that they wrote thrillers and suspense novels rather than horror. As far as I'm concerned, those wussboys should sever all ties with the horror community if that's the way they feel and get out of the way so real horror writers can do their work.”

“A lot of novelists start late-Conrad, Pirandello, even Mark Twain. When you're young, chess is all right, and music and poetry. But novel-writing is something else. It has to be learned, but it can't be taught. This bunkum and stinkum of college creative writing courses! The academics don't know that the only thing you can do for someone who wants to write is to buy him a typewriter.”

Knows Want Writing Young Courses Can Do Novel Creative Taught College Late Mark Chess Novelists Creative Writing Typewriters Novel Writing

Author:James M. Cain

“Steve Yarbrough is a writer of many gifts, but what makes Safe from the Neighbors such a magnificent achievement is its moral complexity. . . . Safe from the Neighbors does what only the best novels can do; after reading it, we can never see the world, or ourselves, in quite the same way.”

World Way Doe Reading Can Do Moral Novel Safe Achievement Neighbor Complexity Magnificent

Author:Ron Rash

“One of the things about writing a novel is you can do it any way you want. It's your voice that's important and I see absolutely no reason why a screenplay can't be the same. It makes it a hell of a lot easier when you're the writer and the director.”

Way Want Writing Important Reason Voice Can Do Novel Hell Easier Directors Reason Why No Reason You Can Do It Screenplays

Author:Quentin Tarantino

“I know I'll keep writing poems. That's the constant. I don't know about novels. They're hard. It takes so much concentrated effort. When I'm writing a novel it's pretty much all I can do. I get bored. It takes months. Movies do the same thing. It's all-encompassing. It feels like I'm going to end up writing poems, short stories and screenplays.”

Knows Feels Writing I Can Ends Hard Stories Can Do Effort Novel Months Constant Bored Short Story Screenplays Writing Poems

Author:Sherman Alexie

“The worst violence we can do to each other often is psychological, especially in families. I dwell a lot on domestic danger. Thats the backdrop of most of my novels - what kind of damage is done without ever lifting a finger.”

Kind Done Can Do Novel Violence Worst Danger Fingers Psychological Damage Lifting Often Is Backdrop Damage Is Done

Author:Lisa Unger

“As far as I am concerned, I write novels, and other people can do the labelling.”

People Writing Can Do Novel Concerned

Author:Peter Temple

“The flimsy little protestations that mark the front gate of every novel, the solemn statements that any resemblance to real persons living or dead is entirely coincidental, are fraudulent every time. A writer has no other material to make his people from than the people of his experience ... The only thing the writer can do is to recombine parts, suppress some characterisitics and emphasize others, put two or three people into one fictional character, and pray the real-life prototypes won't sue.”

People Littles Persons Two Real Character Three Can Do Novel Fronts Materials Praying Mark Real Life Statements Gates Solemn Resemblance Real Person Prototype Fictional Character

Author:Wallace Stegner

“As an author, one of the most important things I think you can do once you've written a novel is step back. When the book is out, it belongs to the readers and you can't stand there breathing over their shoulders.”

Thinking Important Book Can Do Steps Novel Written Reader Important Things Shoulders Breathing Back When

Author:Madeline Miller

“Usually, ordinary histories don't get the emotional feel of a period. That's what a novel can do.”

Feels Can Do Novel Emotional Periods Ordinary

Author:Alix Kates Shulman

“You can do everything differently in a novel. Hero narrates the novel; we're in his head. You're hearing all his thought processes and you're hearing him call himself out on his bad behavior. You don't have the benefit of that narrator in a movie. What you see a character do, very often, becomes that much more important because you don't have him editorializing it for you.”

Important Character Process Can Do Novel Hero Behavior Benefits Hearing Narrators Thought Process Bad Behavior

Author:Jonathan Tropper

“The combination of the growth of these digital technologies, the ability of the government to conjure up these secret interpretations, plus a very unusual and novel court make for this ever-expanding surveillance state. We so treasure our freedoms; we will regret it if our generation doesn't use this unique time to reform the surveillance laws and make it clear that security and liberty are not mutually exclusive. We can do both.”

“It's very bad to write a novel by act of will. I can do a book of nonfiction work that way - just sign the contract and do the book because, provided the topic has some meaning for me, I know I can do it. But a novel is different. A novel is more like falling in love. You don't say, 'I'm going to fall in love next Tuesday, I'm going to begin my novel.' The novel has to come to you. It has to feel just like love.”

Knows Way Feels Writing I Can Book Different Fall Next Can Do Novel Love You Falling In Love Contracts Nonfiction Topics Tuesday I Can Do It Like Love Feels Just

Author:Norman Mailer

“One thing I've found that I can do that I really enjoy is rereading my own writing, earlier stories and novels especially. It induces mental time travel, the same way certain songs you hear on the radio do ... the whole thing returns, an eerie feeling that I'm sure you've experienced.”

Way Writing I Can Whole Stories Feelings Certain Song Found Enjoy Can Do My Own Novel One Thing Return Radio Time Travel Eerie Rereading

Author:Philip K. Dick

“I don't know how it is with other writers, but most of the time when I finish [reading] a story or novel, I may be pleased, I may even be impressed, but somewhere in the back of my mind I'm thinking, I can do that.”

Thinking Knows Mind May I Can Stories Reading Can Do Novel Know How Impressed Of My Mind

Author:F. Paul Wilson

“I really have to think of the things fiction can do that film can't and play to the strengths of the novel. With a novel you can get right inside somebody's head.”

Thinking Play Film Can Do Fiction Novel

Author:Kazuo Ishiguro

“Only another writer can know how much damage writing a novel can do to you. It's an unnatural activity to sit at a desk and squeeze words out of yourself.”

Knows Writing Can Do Novel Know How Activity Damage Desks Unnatural

Book:The Spooky Art: Thoughts on Writing

Source: The Spooky Art: Thoughts on Writing

“I think the trick of writing a good picture book manuscript is to leave that space for illustration. An illustrated novel can do the same thing.”

Thinking Writing Book Can Do Space Novel Tricks Manuscripts Illustration Picture Books

Author:Mac Barnett

“The novel's not the best form for disposing ideas, though that's one thing it can do. It likely is the best form, though, for conveying the experience of us each being alone, trapped in our skulls with only these bodies and this imperfect instrument of language to convey our state and to find meaning and connection.”

Ideas States Body Form Language Can Do Novel One Thing Connections Instruments Imperfect Trapped Find Me Skulls Conveying

Author:Michael Helm

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