“I would like to please the reader, and I think that surprise has to be an element of this, and that may necessitate a certain amount of teasing. To shock the reader is something else again. That has to be handled with great care if you're not going to alienate and hurt him, and I'm firmly against that, just as I disapprove of people who dress with that in mind - dye their hair blue and stick safety pins through their noses and so on.” PeopleIfsThinkingMindMayCareCertainHurtHairReaderAmountPleaseElementsDressesSafetyBlueSticksSurpriseNosesShockPinsTeaseSafety Pins Author:John Ashbery
“When you write a book, you want to have fidelity to the character. Characters and their emotions guide the structure of the novel. The author is aware that there's a certain amount of information she/he has to provide in order to satisfy the reader, knowing that she/he has set something up that must be paid off, but this payment must be made while maintaining fidelity to the characters.” WantWritingMadeBookCharacterCertainOrderEmotionNovelKnowingInformationReaderAmountPaidStructureGuidesMaintainingPaymentFidelityPaid Off Author:David Bezmozgis
“My readers often say to me, 'If we lived next door to each other, we'd be best friends.' That is precisely what I wanted to say to smart, funny, self-effacing Ellen McCarthy after I finished reading The Real Thing. I loved every lesson laid out in a book that wouldn't dare to call itself a field guide to marriage but amounts to as much on every page. This is a deeply useful little book.” IfsLittlesBookRealSelfWantedReadingNextDoorsFieldsReaderAmountLessonsPagesSmartDareFinishedGuidesReal Things Author:Kelly Corrigan
“I feel that I am doing the minimum amount of damage to other possibilities that may take place in a reader's head.” FeelsMayPossibilityReaderAmountDamageMinimum Author:Edward Gorey
“A large part of academic community is unthinkingly self-involved, producing reams of sterile writing - often consuming unbelievable amounts of public funds - and serving as an instruction manual for how to chase away readers and ignore historical insights.” WritingSelfCommunityReaderAmountInvolvedHistoricalInsightFundServingInstructionAcademicUnbelievableConsumingManuals Author:Gotz Aly
“I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. It enables me to talk to readers from all over the world, but it also makes it far too easy to waste huge amounts of time.” WorldHateEasyHugeReaderAmountWasteLove HateLove Hate Relationship Author:Pamela Clare
“You need to have a reader's sympathy in order to accomplish anything. It's like at a reading, I find it's better to read something funny than to read something tragic. It just goes over better because you have a finite amount of time with somebody. Of course, in a book, you have a lot of time. But you still do want to make a certain impression right when you begin.” WantNeedsStillsBookCertainOrderCoursesReadingReaderAmountAccomplishImpressionTragicFinite Author:Jonathan Safran Foer