“A mirror does not develop because an historical pageant passes in front of it. It only develops when it gets a fresh coat of quicksilver in other words, when it acquires new sensitiveness; and the novel's success lies in its own sensitiveness, not in the success of its subject matter.” DoeMatterLyingNovelSubjectsFrontsMirrorsHistoricalAcquireCoatsSubject MatterPageant Book:Aspects Of the Novel Source: Aspects Of the Novel
“Whatever I am, I'm not as bad as the person that read the novel before watching the film. I'll enjoy whatever they [producers] are putting in front of me. If they made an attempt to get things right, then I'll criticize them for what they got wrong. If they made no attempt to get things right, and yet they stumble on something that's right, I'll comment on what they got right.” IfsPersonsMadeFilmEnjoyNovelFrontsProducersCriticizeComment Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“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.” PeopleLittlesPersonsTwoRealCharacterThreeCan DoNovelFrontsMaterialsPrayingMarkReal LifeStatementsGatesSolemnResemblanceReal PersonPrototypeFictional Character Author:Wallace Stegner
“Creating the characters is the most creative part of the novel except for the language itself. There I am, sitting in front of my computer in right-brain mode, typing the things that come to mind - which become the seeds of plot. It's scary, though, because I always wonder: Is it going to be there this time?” MindCharacterLanguageBrainWonderNovelCreativeFrontsComputerCreatingSittingScarySeedsPlotTyping Author:Elizabeth George
“When I was writing my first novel, I smoked cigarettes. And when I think about what it was like to smoke, I remember exactly the feeling of sitting in front of my big old computer in that little room where I wrote my first novel.” ThinkingWritingFirstsLittlesFeelingsBigsRememberRoomsNovelFrontsComputerSittingSmokeCigarette Author:Dani Shapiro