“My novels tend to come about from a fusion of two big ideas, creating a critical mass that then fissions, throwing off hundreds of other particles, riffs, tropes and characters.” TwoIdeasCharacterBigsNovelCreatingMassCriticalThrowingParticlesFusionBig IdeasTropesCritical MassFission Author:Will Self
“After the initial critical learning period of youth is over, the areas of the brain that need to be 'turned on' to allow enhanced, long lasting learning can only be activated when something important, surprising, or novel occurs, or if we make the effort to pay close attention.” IfsNeedsLongImportantEffortPayAttentionBrainKnowledgeNovelYouthPeriodsAreasCriticalLastingSurprisingInitialsLong Lasting Author:Norman Doidge
“The Lake of Dreams grew gradually, over many years, elements and ideas accruing until they gained enough critical mass to become a novel.” YearsIdeasEnoughDreamNovelGrewElementsMassCriticalLakesCritical Mass Author:Kim Edwards
“There are many things behind a good novel, but in particular there is a lot of work - a lot of patience, a lot of stubbornness, and a critical spirit.” SpiritBehindsNovelParticularCriticalStubbornnessCritical Spirit Author:Mario Vargas Llosa
“I often notice how students can gain the capacity to use certain critical methodologies through engaging with very different texts - how a graphic novel about gentrification and an anthology about Hurricane Katrina and a journalistic account of war profiteering might all lead to very similar classroom conversations and critical engagement. I'm particularly interested in this when teaching law students who often resist reading interdisciplinary materials or materials they interpret as too theoretical.” DifferentWarUseMightLawCertainReadingNovelTeachingStudentsMaterialsConversationGainsCapacityAccountsCriticalEngagementClassroomEngagingTheoreticalGraphicHurricanesAnthologyMethodologyKatrinaGraphic NovelsJournalisticHurricane KatrinaGentrificationLaw StudentsInterdisciplinary Author:Dean Spade
“For being able to use language was a critical skill that could carry one far. One could use it professionally, as a crafter of everything from political speeches to modern novels. One could use it personally, as a tool of discovery or a means of staying connected to others. One could use it as an outlet that would feed the artistic spirit of the creator, which existed in everyone.” MeanUseAblePoliticalSpiritLanguageNovelModernSkillsSpeechDiscoveryToolsCreatorConnectedCriticalArtisticStayingOutletsPolitical SpeechesModern NovelCrafters Author:Elizabeth George
“Be critical of but not brutal with your writing. If something isn't essential, get rid of it. Remember that good dialogue can serve a whole passel of purposes in your novel, and to overlook one of them is to overlook one of the tools of the craft. Like hitting a nail with a screwdriver, if you know what I mean.” IfsKnowsWritingMeanWholeRememberPurposeNovelEssentialsToolsCriticalDialogueCraftsBrutalHittingNailsScrewdrivers Author:Elizabeth George
“For a really long time [before writing the novel], I was watching a lot of serial killer movies and I started to wonder if this was a trend and if other people were doing the same thing. That's what happens when you suddenly have a critical perspective on your own behavior.” PeopleIfsWritingLongHappensWonderNovelPerspectiveBehaviorLong TimeCriticalTrendsKillersSerialsSerial KillerReally Long Author:Lucy Corin
“I'm grateful for the likes of Kundera, Murnane, Markson, Berger, and, in his recent work, Coetzee. But no matter how celebrated they are, critics still consider them askance. Elizabeth Costello, for example, is a great novel, but it got quite a critical panning when it was published. The complaint was that it was simply a book of speeches, without the machinery of conventional fiction. Markson's books are compilations of facts and alleged facts, very artfully.” StillsBookMatterFactsFictionNovelExampleSpeechGratefulCriticsCriticalLikesConventionalComplaintsMachineryGreat NovelsCompilationCoetzee Author:Teju Cole