“One of my pet theories is that readers have built-in BS detectors that enable them to recognize insincerity in writers. David [Halberstam] was sincerity to the core. He believed in what he wrote, and that conviction conveyed itself to readers.” TheoryReaderBuiltConvictionCorePetSincerityInsincerity Author:Jonathan Yardley
“The built-in form is a window frame. You can use this genre [crime fiction] to go where you want to go, and explore what you want to explore. In some ways it gives you a lot of freedom because you have a framework readers are looking for.” WayWantGivingUseFormFictionCrimeReaderBuiltWindowWhat You WantGenreFrameworkCrime Fiction Author:Michael Connelly
“People and places are the twin pillars on which most nonfiction is built. Every human event happens somewhere, and the reader wants to know what that somewhere was like.” PeopleKnowsWantHumansHappensEventsReaderBuiltNonfictionTwinsPillars Author:William Zinsser
“The novelist teaches the reader to comprehend the world as a question. There is wisdom and tolerance in that attitude. In a world built on sacrosanct certainties the novel is dead.” WorldAttitudeTeachNovelReaderBuiltToleranceCertaintyNovelists Author:Milan Kundera