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Novel Quotes

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Novel Quotes

“. . . you [film critics] always overstress the value of images. You judge films in the first place by their visual impact instead of looking for content. This is a great disservice to the cinema. It is like judging a novel only by the quality of its prose. I was guilty of the same sin when I first started writing for the cinema. . . . Now I feel that only the literary mind can help the movies out of that cul de sac into which they have been driven by mere technicians and artificers.”

Feels Writing Mind Firsts Has Beens Helping Film Values Sin Quality Novel Judging Impact Mere Critics Driven Guilty Crafts Cinema Visuals Prose Technicians Disservice Film Critics

Author:Orson Welles

“Washing the Dead is an illuminating and intricately layered novel about the complicated legacies that pass from mother to daughter, and about the ways that understanding our own history helps make us who we are. Michelle Brafman is an insightful writer who never falters or flinches in her quest to uncover the hearts of her characters.”

Way Heart Character Helping Mother Understanding Novel Daughter Complicated Legacy Who We Are Insightful Quests Washing Mother Daughter Illuminating

Author:Carolyn Parkhurst

“I am always amazed by the novel angles that people come up with for kids' Christmas books. Even if a family is not religious, who could resist, say, "Olive, the Other Reindeer," about Olive the dog who thinks the song refers to her and heads for the North Pole to help Santa out?”

People Ifs Thinking Book Helping Kids Song Religious Novel Dog Come Up Amazed Angle Santa Olives North Pole Reindeer

Author:Jabari Asim

“I don't write poetry or short stories. I don't like to write articles usually. I tend to really only want to be focused on writing novels. It's one of the real advantages I've had over the years. I've only been good at one thing. It helps to be limited.”

Want Writing Years Real Helping Stories Novel One Thing Advantage Focused Articles Short Story

Author:Markus Zusak

“I never think about genre when I work. I've written fantasy, science fiction, supernatural fiction, and am now working on a suspense novel. Genres are mostly useful as a marketing tool, and to help booksellers known where to shelve a book.”

Thinking Book Helping Fiction Known Fantasy Novel Written Tools Science Fiction Marketing Suspense Genre Booksellers Suspense Novels

Author:Elizabeth Hand

“Never, if you can possibly help it, write a novel. It is, in the first place, a thoroughly unsocial act. It makes one obnoxious to one's family and to one's friends. One sits about for many weeks, months, even years, in the worst cases, in a state of stupefaction.”

Ifs Writing Years Firsts States Helping Cases Novel Week Worst Months Obnoxious

Author:Pearl S. Buck

“My novels tend to take a long time to become exactly what they're going to be. They're fluid messes until I've done a ton of editing and refining and rewriting. When I write novels, I always make related scrapbooks to help me organize and test my intentions.”

Writing Long Done Helping Novel Long Time Tests Intention Mess Related Help Me Editing Organize Fluid Rewriting Refining

Author:Dennis Cooper

“Novels help us to resist the temptation to think of the past as deficient.”

Thinking Helping Past Novel Temptation

Book:Conversations with Ian McEwan

Source: Conversations with Ian McEwan

“Dystopian novels help people process their fears about what the future might look like; further, they usually show that there is always hope, even in the bleakest future.”

People Looks Helping Shows Might Process Novel Dystopian

Author:Lauren Oliver

“The novel is a perfect medium for revealing to us the changing rainbow of our living relationships. The novel can help us to live,as nothing else can: no didactic Scripture, anyhow. If the novelist keeps his thumb out of the pan.”

Ifs Helping Literature Perfect Novel Morality Scripture Mediums Novelists Rainbow Revealing Thumbs Didactic

Book:Selected Poems of D.h. Lawrence

Source: Selected Poems of D.h. Lawrence

“I didn't know how story worked. So, when writing the screenplay, people introduced me to the science of it. And I'm grateful. I'll probably use that information for the rest of my career, in terms of writing novels or writing stories. And then, of course, to help me live a better story, a more meaningful story”

People Knows Writing Helping Stories Use Courses Term Careers Novel Know How Information Grateful Meaningful Help Me Screenplays Writing Stories

Author:Donald Miller

“When I write a novel, I have what I think of as an icon that helps get me into the world of the book.”

Thinking World Writing Book Helping Novel Icons

Author:Anna Quindlen

“My writerly aspirations are pretty simple: to provide as many readers as possible with the same sort of wonderful immersion that I myself get from fantasy novels - and to make enough money to help feed my kids while doing so.”

Enough Helping Kids Simple Fantasy Novel Wonderful Reader Aspiration Immersion Fantasy Novels

Author:Saladin Ahmed

“There's no really other way to learn writing than by writing. So accelerate that as much as you can. The more you write, the better you'll get. What also helps, though, is walking away from broken stuff. Not everything's going to work. Killing two years of your life trying to resuscitate a dying novel, I don't know. Why not just write a different one? You'll have more ideas. You can't help having ideas.”

Knows Way Writing Trying Years Two Ideas Different Helping Stuff Novel Dying Broken Walking Killing Two Years Why Not Going To Work Accelerate Walking Away

Author:Stephen Graham Jones

“My novels are never truly finished, even if they're published and sitting on the shelf. While I may no longer be interested in spending time with that particular set of characters, I can't help but think about all the ways the book could be different, the small, insignificant tweaks that no one but me would ever notice.”

Ifs Thinking Way May I Can Book Different Character Helping Novel Particular Sitting Spending Finished Shelves Insignificant Spending Time Tweak

Author:Jillian Medoff

“Writing a novel is like heading out over the open sea in a small boat. It helps, if you have a plan and a course laid out.”

Ifs Writing Helping Courses Novel Plans Sea Boat Headings Fiction Writing Writers And Writing Writing Fiction Writing By Writers

Author:John Gardner

“The novels have done so well because the drawings are abstract, black-and-white. This adds to the universality of the story. "Persepolis" also has dreamlike moments, and the drawings help maintain cohesion and consistency.”

Wells Done Moments Helping Stories Black White Novel Add Drawing Abstract Black And White Consistency Cohesion Universality Persepolis

Author:Marjane Satrapi

“I think it's especially important for an editor to say what he's enjoying. For a novelist to be told, midstream, what he's doing right can actually influence the unwritten parts of a novel in a positive way - praise helps a writer know what's good about what he's written, what's interesting and exciting, and what to work for in writing the conclusion.”

Thinking Knows Way Writing Important Helping Enjoy Interesting Novel Written Influence Exciting Praise Conclusion Novelists Editors Doing Right Unwritten

Author:Donna Tartt

“Every novel deals with social problems. It can't help it because the protagonist must come in conflict with his group. So the author has to offer an analysis of how the group and the protagonist fit. Otherwise, the reader will just say, "This makes no sense," and will put it away.”

Helping Problem Social Deals Novel Groups Reader Fit Offers Conflict Analysis Protagonists Social Problems

Author:Jane Smiley

“Objectifying your own novel while writing it never really helps. Instead, I guess while you're writing you need to think: This is the novel I want to write. And when you're done you need to think: This is what the novel I wanted to write feels like and reads like and looks like. Other people might call it sweeping or small, but it's the book you chose.”

People Thinking Want Needs Feels Writing Looks Book Done Helping Might Wanted Novel Sweeping Objectifying

Author:Meg Wolitzer

“Not a lot of contemporary fiction is written about brothers and sisters. Salinger's Franny and Zooey was an inspiration for me. In Franny and Zooey, the sister gets in trouble and the brother comes to help her out. But I wanted to make sure that in my novel the sister had more to do than lie around on a sofa muttering, which is what Franny does for two-thirds of Salinger's novel.”

Doe Two Helping Inspiration Wanted Lying Fiction Novel Written Trouble Brother Thirds Contemporary Brothers And Sisters Contemporary Fiction Sofas Muttering Salinger

Author:K. M. Soehnlein

“As far as benefits to reading historical novels, there are several! For one thing, you learn about life in another era. Secondly, these novels help us to develop a deeper understanding of the legacy of women who came before us and the strides made by our ancestors.”

Made Helping Reading Understanding Novel One Thing Benefits Historical Deeper Eras Legacy Ancestor Stride Deeper Understanding Historical Novels

Author:Mary Pope Osborne

“The historical novel gives us perspective on our modern lives and helps us connect with the story, which we are continuing ourselves.”

Giving Helping Stories Novel Modern Perspective Historical Continuing Modern Life Historical Novels

Author:Mary Pope Osborne

“You sing about the things you're influenced by. So we've been big into sci-fi since we were kids, things like Star Trek etc. Then came movies like Terminator and Dune. Burton is also a really big reader and loves sci-fi novels which helps him write. It's also really cool he does that because it's through the perspective of how we see things going or possibly going.”

Writing Doe Helping Bigs Kids Stars Novel Perspective Reader And Love Etc Sci Fi Really Cool

Author:Dino Cazares