“My books are based on the "what if" principle. "What if you became invisible?" or "What if you did change into your mother for one day?" I then take it from there. Each book takes several months in the long process of writing, rewriting, writing, rewriting, and each has its own set of problems. The one thing I dislike about the writing process is the sometimes-loneliness of it all. Readers only get to see the glamour part of a bound book, not some of the agonizing moments one has while constructing it.” IfsWritingLongBookSometimesMomentsProblemMotherProcessPrinciplesOne ThingLonelinessMonthsReaderOne DayBoundsInvisibleWhat IfDislikeWriting ProcessGlamourRewritingAgonizing Author:Mary Rodgers
“Sometimes reactions can be quite surprising: readers like things that you, the author, feel you've barely gotten away with; or they dislike one of the parts you secretly think is one of your little gems.” ThinkingFeelsLittlesSometimesReaderReactionsDislikeSurprisingGems Author:Margaret Atwood
“Reasons for not keeping a notebook: 1) the ambiguity of the reader--it is never quite oneself. 2) I usually hate the sight of my handwriting--it lives too much and I dislike its life--I mean by "lives," of course, betrays too much!” LifeMeanReasonHateCoursesToo MuchReaderSightOneselfDislikeBetrayNever QuitDiariesAmbiguityNotebookHandwriting Author:Lionel Trilling
“Like when you pick up a book and you don't realize what type of text it is - it could be an essay, a novel, a biography - and at one point you realize you don't know where, as a reader, you want to be. Where are you going with this text? What is the goal? How are you supposed to interpret what you're reading? And people's responses vary - some dislike it, and are put off by the confusion, the lack of comprehension.” PeopleKnowsWantBookReadingGoalRealizingNovelTypeReaderPicksResponseConfusionDislikeBiographiesEssaysVaryComprehension Author:Sergio Chejfec
“I'm not a big Austen reader. I wouldn't say I dislike her, but if I had to choose between her and Eliot to bring to a desert island, it would definitely be Eliot.” IfsBigsReaderDesertIslandsDislikeAustenEliot Author:Elizabeth Gilbert