“The best thing about writing fiction is that moment where the story catches fire and comes to life on the page, and suddenly it all makes sense and you know what it's about and why you're doing it and what these people are saying and doing, and you get to feel like both the creator and the audience. Everything is suddenly both obvious and surprising ("but of course that's why he was doing that, and that means that...") and it's magic and wonderful and strange.” PeopleKnowsFeelsWritingMeanMomentsStoriesCoursesFictionAudienceFireWonderfulMagicStrangePagesObviousCreatorMake SenseBest ThingsThat MomentSurprisingWriting FictionSaying And Doing Author:Neil Gaiman
“A lot of people say I tried to emulate Tupac, but when I look back at my career, we're very different artists. I took pages out of Pac's book, of course, and lots of other rappers - Biggie, Nas - of course you take pages out of those books, but you eventually make it your own thing. And I think I did a good job of that.” PeopleThinkingLooksBookDifferentJobsArtistCoursesCareersPagesRapperGood JobEmulatePacsBiggie Author:Ja Rule
“It's the form it takes when it comes out the other side, of course, that gives a story something unique--its life. The story, in the way it has arrived at what it is on the page, has been something learned, by dint of the story's challenge and the work that rises to meet it--a process as uncharted for the writer as if it had never been attempted before.” IfsWayGivingHas BeensStoriesFormCoursesProcessSidesChallengesPagesUniqueUncharted Book:Stories, Essays, and Memoir Source: Stories, Essays, and Memoir
“It is a little out of touch to presume that someone wants to follow your every observation and insight over the course of hundreds of pages without any sort of payoff. That's why writing isn't a one-way street. You have to give something back: an interesting plot, a surprise, a laugh, a moment of tenderness, a mystery for the reader to piece together.” WayWantGivingWritingLittlesMomentsTogetherCoursesInterestingLaughingPiecesMysteryStreetsReaderPagesSurpriseInsightObservationOne WayPlotTendernessPayoff Author:Christopher Bollen
“I am the signet which marks the page where the revolution has been stopped; but when I die it will turn the page and resume its course.” Has BeensDiesTurnsCoursesRevolutionPagesMarkResumes Author:Napoleon Bonaparte
“One of my heroes, almost necessarily from what I'm saying, of course, is Borges, who is a supreme master of doing thing -- being a data bank -- and the beauty of this economy is that he could have written War and Peace in three or four pages; who knows, it might have been a better book.” KnowsHas BeensBookWarMightThreeCoursesEconomyFourWrittenMastersHeroPagesSupremeDataMight Have BeenMy HeroBorges Author:Peter Greenaway
“Once, I'd written a Western story, and one of the panels was just a hand holding a six-shooter, and there was a puff of smoke coming out of the barrel, and a straight horizontal line, indicating the trajectory of the bullet. So that page was sent back to me from the Code office, saying that the particular panel was too violent. I asked them what they meant, and they told me--I swear--"The puff of smoke is too big." Well, of course. So I had the artist make the smoke a little smaller, and the youth of America was saved.” WellsLittlesStoriesHandsBigsAmericaArtistCoursesLinesWrittenYouthParticularOfficeSixPagesWesternSavedViolentSmokeCodeComing OutSwearBulletsBarrelsTrajectoryPuffHorizontalShooterHand HoldingHorizontal Lines Author:Stan Lee
“When you wrote it didn't matter if hysteria sometimes came up in your face and voice (unless, of course, you let it find its way into your "literary voice") because writing was done in merciful privacy and silence. Even if you were partly out of your mind it might turn out to be all right: you could try for control even harder than Blanche Dubois was said to have tried, and with luck you could still bring off a sense of order and sanity on the page for the reader. Reading, after all, was a thing done in privacy and silence too.” IfsWayWritingTryingMindSaidStillsSometimesMatterDoneMightFacesOrderTurnsCoursesReadingVoiceSilenceReaderPagesHarderLuckPrivacyYour FaceSanityThings DoneMercifulHysteriaBlancheDubois Book:Young Hearts Crying Source: Young Hearts Crying
“I remember on a Friday afternoon getting a phone call from Grant Simmons saying, "Mike," we got to be pretty good friends; "Mike, the Sheriff is closing us down on Monday. If you'd like to drive into the studio tomorrow morning, you can have anything you want." So rather than go in and take home piles and piles of cels of Spider-Man what did I take home? Two pages of original art that got sent out to the west coast. Now of course if I'd have taken all the rest of that stuff home I could probably have retired a lot earlier.” IfsMenWantArtTwoHomeRememberCoursesStuffMorningTakenTomorrowPagesOriginalsWestPhonesStudiosGrantsAfternoonGood FriendCoastMondayFridaySpidersMikeRetiredClosingPhone CallsSpider ManWest CoastSheriffsTomorrow MorningOriginal ArtFriday Afternoon Author:Mike Royer
“If I wanted to own some Jack Kirby original art unless it was something that Giacoia or Sinnott had inked I was too close to it. I didn't want to collect his pages inked by me. Of course 40 years later I'd LOVE to have some of that stuff.” IfsWantYearsArtWantedCoursesStuffPagesOriginalsOriginal Art Author:Mike Royer
“After me, the Revolution - or, rather the ideas which formed it - will resume their course. It will be like a book from which the marker is removed, and one starts to read again at the page where one left off.” BookIdeasCoursesLeftRevolutionPagesResumesMarkers Author:Napoleon Bonaparte
“To divine the course of world events, you'd do as well to probe the entrails of dead animals. Better still, ask your hairstylist. She will be at least as insightful and probably more entertaining a prophet than anyone you can read in Foreign Affairs or the op-ed page of the Washington Post.” WorldWellsStillsCoursesAsksAnimalEventsDivinePagesAffairPostsProphetInsightfulEntertainingForeign AffairsWorld EventsHairstylist Author:Andrew Bacevich
“If the 1,990-page House Health Care Bill becomes law, the average American will receive worse health care, American physicians will decline in status and income, American medical innovation will dramatically slow down and pharmaceutical discoveries will decline in number and quality. And, of course, the economy of the United States will deteriorate, perhaps permanently.” IfsStatesCareLawCoursesHouseUnitedNumbersQualityUnited StatesEconomyPagesDiscoveryInnovationDown AndBillsAverageMedicalIncomeHealth CareDeclinePhysiciansSlow DownPharmaceutical Author:Dennis Prager
“I took a speed reading course and my speed shot up to 43 pages a minute, but my comprehension plummeted.” CoursesReadingMinutesPagesShotsSpeedComprehensionSpeed Reading Author:Brian Regan
“Of course we all know that's not how life works. The novel that is our life can end at any time. Sometimes even on page one.” KnowsEndsSometimesCoursesNovelOur LivesPages Author:Junot Diaz
“From a craft standpoint, telling a story in the first-person present tense over the course of 500 pages is a daunting challenge.” FirstsPersonsStoriesCoursesChallengesPagesCraftsTenseStandpointFirst PersonPresent Tense Author:Joseph Boyden
“It felt like an indulgence. Going back was painful, but, at the same time, it was nice to live with them again for a few pages. I got to live with my brother again for the entire book. Of course as I'm writing the book, I'm getting closer and closer to the end and I know what that means. I knew exactly where I was heading. It was really difficult, but it was nice to make them come alive for those scenes. It was good.” KnowsWritingMeanBookEndsCoursesFeltDifficultNiceAliveBrotherScenePagesPainfulMy BrotherIndulgenceHeadings Author:Jesmyn Ward
“A lot of artists have been persuaded into doing whatever they can do to gain attention. The media, of course, will position and promote the worst of them to the front page. The sidewalk to crime becomes the marketing campaign. These artists have seen it work and sell millions and millions of records for other artists.” Has BeensArtistCoursesCan DoAttentionMillionsRecordsWorstMediaFrontsCrimePositionPagesGainsSellsMarketingCampaignsSidewalkMarketing Campaigns Author:Chuck D
“I carry around a notebook that is equal parts day planner and journal. Every morning, I check to see what the agenda for the day is, and if there isn't a plan, I make one. I strive to fill the rest of the page with miscellaneous thoughts and ideas and go back through and fill sparse pages as well. If I start skipping days, I know I'm off course and need to take a step back and ground my life.” IfsKnowsNeedsWellsIdeasCoursesStepsMorningPlansEqualPagesStriveChecksAgendasEvery MorningJournalNotebookMiscellaneousPlannersThoughts And Ideas Author:Kit Williamson
“I think any good cartoon sums things up for people. It's kind of ironic we appear on the editorial pages of newspapers, but now of course we're transferring over to the net, and that gets a lot more attention.” PeopleThinkingKindCoursesAttentionPagesNewspapersIronicCartoonEditorials Author:Terry Mosher
“Jealousy is a potent emotion, of course, and Facebook, texting, email, fan Web pages... In theory, being someone like George Clooney's or Halle Berry's paramour - woo hoo - how great would that be? But wait a minute... er, no, probably kind of a nightmare.” KindCoursesWaitingEmotionFansMinutesTheoryPagesNightmareEmailBerriesTextingWeb Page Author:Christine Sneed
“Every good story needs a complication. We learn this fiction-writing fundamental in courses and workshops, by reading a lot or, most painfully, through our own abandoned story drafts. After writing twenty pages about a harmonious family picnic, say, or a well-received rock concert, we discover that a story without a complication flounders, no matter how lovely the prose. A story needs a point of departure, a place from which the character can discover something, transform himself, realize a truth, reject a truth, right a wrong, make a mistake, come to terms.” NeedsWritingWellsMatterCharacterStoriesCoursesReadingTermRealizingMistakeFictionRocksPagesTwentiesFundamentalsVery GoodLovelyProseRejectsConcertsAbandonedHarmoniousGood StoryDepartureWorkshopsFiction WritingComplicationPicnicsRock Concerts Author:Monica Wood
“Of course, there are hundreds of novels and authors that have influenced me. But to choose three, they are: Stephen King/The Stand (and really most of his books); Anne Rice/The Witching Hour; and Pat Conroy/The Prince of Tides. These authors write my favorite kind of book - epic feel, gorgeous prose, unique characters, and a pace that keeps you turning the pages. From them, I learned a lot about characterization, pacing, prose, voice, and originality.” FeelsWritingKindBookCharacterThreeCoursesVoiceHoursNovelKingsPagesUniqueMy FavoriteProsePaceOriginalityTidesEpicGorgeousRiceCharacterizationPacing Author:Megan Chance
“October knew, of course, that the action of turning a page, of ending a chapter or of shutting a book, did not end a tale. Having admitted that, he would also avow that happy endings were never difficult to find: "It is simply a matter," he explained to April, "of finding a sunny place in a garden, where the light is golden and the grass is soft; somewhere to rest, to stop reading, and to be content.” BookEndsMatterLightActionCoursesReadingDifficultFindingsPagesGardenTalesGoldenGrassChaptersAprilHappy EndingsSunnyOctober Author:Neil Gaiman
“As you read a book word by word and page by page, you participate in its creation, just as a cellist playing a Bach suite participates, note by note, in the creation, the coming-to-be, the existence, of the music. And, as you read and re-read, the book of course participates in the creation of you, your thoughts and feelings, the size and temper of your soul.” BookSoulFeelingsCoursesExistenceCreationPagesNotesSizeYour SoulTemperThoughts And FeelingsCellists Author:Ursula K. Le Guin
“Of course I know that the twins are only words on a page, and I'm certainly not the sort of writer who talks to his characters or harbours any illusions about the creative process. But at the same time, I think it's juvenile and arrogant when literary writers compulsively remind their readers that the characters aren't real. People know that already. The challenge is to make an intelligent reader suspend disbelief, to seduce them into the reality of a narrative.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWritingRealCharacterRealityCoursesProcessChallengesCreativeReaderPagesIllusionIntelligentNarrativeArrogantCreative ProcessTwinsDisbeliefSeducingJuvenileHarbour Author:Michel Faber
“After a time I found that I could almost listen to the silence, which had a dimension all of its own. I started to attend to its strange and beautiful texture, which of course, it was impossible to express in words. I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and around there. Without the distraction of constant conversation, the words on the page began to speak directly to my inner self. They were no long expressing ideas that were simply interesting intellectually, but were talking directly to my own yearning and perplexity.” WorldLongIdeasSelfHomeBeautifulCoursesFoundSpeakFeltMy OwnInterestingSilenceTalkingAliveImpossibleStrangeConversationPagesConstantDimensionsDistractionYearningInteriorsCompelledInner SelfTexturePerplexityExpressing Ideas Author:Karen Armstrong
“Love? I need a lot of love." Of course you do. Everyone does. It's funny that we never say it. It's OK to scream, 'I'm starving' in public if you are hungry; it's OK to make a fuss and say, 'I'm so sleepy', if you are tired; but somehow we cannot say, 'I need some more love.' Why can't we say it? It's just as basic a need." - ONE NIGHT @ THE CALL CENTER Chapter 36 pages 293-4” IfsNeedsDoeNightCoursesPagesTiredHungryScreamChaptersStarvingOne NightSleepyCall Center Author:Chetan Bhagat
“Prescription: 'Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. Take ten pages, twice a day, til end of course.” BookEndsCoursesCasesTenPagesPrescriptionsHolmesArthurConanSir Arthur Conan Doyle Author:Diane Setterfield
“Why do you think the Bible has survived thousands of years of tumultuous history Why is it still here Is it because its stories are such compelling reading Of course not...but there is a reason. There is a reason Christian monks spend lifetimes attempting to decipher the Bible. There is a reason that Jewish mystics and Kabbalists pore over the Old Testament. And that reason Robert is that there exist powerful secrets hidden in the pages of this ancient book...a vast collection of untapped wisdom waiting to be unveiled.” ThinkingYearsStillsBookReasonStoriesChristianCoursesReadingWaitingPowerfulSecretPagesLifetimeAncientCollectionsCompellingSurvivedTestamentMonkAttemptingOld TestamentDecipher Author:Dan Brown
“Since you and Crispin are now finished and I have a few hours to kill, how about that shag?” he asked with heavy irony. “Bite me,” I sighed, gathering up the pages. He winked. “Of course. My second-favorite thing to do in bed.” CoursesHoursBedPagesHeavyFinishedIronyThings To DoBitesGatheringFavorites ThingsBite Me Author:Jeaniene Frost