“It's very hard to know who your readers are, but that's who I'm... if I have somebody in my head, that's probably who it is.” IfsKnowsHardReader Author:Louis Menand
“If you write for the New Yorker, you always get people critiquing your grammar, you can count on it. So, because a lot of New Yorker readers are kind of, you know, amateur grammarians and so you do get a lot of that.” PeopleIfsKnowsWritingKindReaderGrammarNew Yorkers Author:Louis Menand
“I would be happier if people who went through MFA programs also were already, by then, deeply committed readers of poetry because we need readers of poetry as much as writers of poetry.” PeopleIfsNeedsWould BeReaderProgramCommittedPoetry Is Author:Edward Hirsch
“Is rule of thumb in writing game: if story requires many long descriptions of smells so vile that will give reader nausea, is not likely to find publisher.” IfsGivingWritingLongStoriesGamesReaderSmellDescriptionSongwritingPublishersThumbsNausea Author:Dean Koontz
“I think if a writer is not endeavoring to expand and alter consciousness in himself and in his readers, he is not doing much of anything. It is precisely words, word lines, lines of words and images, and associations connected with these word and image lines in the brain, that keep you in present time, right where you are sitting now.” IfsThinkingLinesBrainConsciousnessReaderSittingConnectedWhere You AreAssociationPresent Time Author:William S. Burroughs
“How much he was shaped by being in the hospital so much as a kid. Because he was sick, he was a reader, and because he was a reader, Kennedy had heroes. Because he had heroes, he went into politics. [Kennedy liked Sir Walter Scott, King Arthur's knights, and biographies of political leaders.] If he hadn't been sick, he might have been like everybody else in the family, a jock.” IfsHas BeensMightKidsPoliticalLeaderReaderKingsHeroSickHospitalsBiographiesMight Have BeenKnightsArthurPolitical LeadersJocksKing Arthur Author:Chris Matthews
“Mainly, I try not to think about my readers as I write - I just think of my characters and myself - If they're interesting to me, my hope is that they'll be interesting to others as well.” IfsThinkingWritingTryingWellsCharacterInterestingReader Author:Jacqueline Woodson
“What's impossible not to notice, though - it's all around us - is the diminution of American prose: How pedestrian it has become. Pick up any short story and listen to its voice, the tedious easy vernacular that mistakes transcription for realism. This would display an understandable pragmatism if it were a pandering to common-denominator readers; but it is, in fact, a kind of hifalultin literary ideology, the less-is-more Hemingway legacy put through an up-to-the-minute industrial blender.” IfsKindFactsStoriesEasyVoiceCommonMistakeImpossibleMinutesReaderPicksIdeologyLegacyProseShort StoryDisplayRealismTediousPragmatismCommon DenominatorPedestriansLess Is MoreVernacularBlendersTranscription Author:Cynthia Ozick
“I love to fool my readers, but in a good way. If you've read any of my work, there's a good chance that at some point I surprised you.” IfsWayChanceFoolReaderGood WayGood Chance Author:Vera Nazarian
“If you are an ardent reader, seek not brilliant and erudite texts; otherwise the demon of haughtiness will strike your heart. But like a wise bee that gathers honey from flowers, so also through your reading obtain healing for your soul.” IfsHeartSoulJoyReadingHealingWiseFlowerReaderStrikesBrilliantYour SoulDemonHoneyBeesArdentEruditeHaughtiness Author:Ephrem the Syrian
“A good writer preserves an air of freedom in his prose, so that the reader won't know how a story will end - even if he's reading a history book.” IfsKnowsBookEndsStoriesReadingKnow HowAirReaderPreservesProseGood WritersHistory Books Author:Thornton Wilder
“If you put a pink cover on something, critics make a certain set of assumptions and may not even read the book. But my readers are happy with it.” IfsMayBookCertainReaderCriticsAssumption Author:Jennifer Weiner
“I thought if I was open and honest, it would help the reader to get open and honest, and they also would realize sometimes when you write a book, people think you're an expert and that's not always true.” PeopleIfsThinkingWritingBookSometimesHelpingRealizingHonestReaderExperts Author:John C. Maxwell
“I want to engage the reader. I'm an emotional writer, in the sense that I would be happy if you re-read a book for the intellectual or the mental part of it, but, the first time, I just like to reach out and grab you, pull you in.” IfsWantFirstsBookWould BeEmotionalReaderIntellectualFirst TimeReach Out Author:Stephen King
“If readers like The Thorn and the Blossom, which I would call literary fantasy, I think they would like books such as Elizabeth Hand's Mortal Love, Catherynne Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, and Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen.” IfsThinkingBookHandsHappensGirlFantasyReaderStrangerThings HappenShipsMortalsLinks Author:Theodora Goss
“If you connect emotionally with the plight of those characters, ou feel what they feel and you walk away with a sense of understanding and empathy, and hopefully, something has been illuminated for you. And I tink that's what happendd for a lot of readers with my novels.” IfsFeelsHas BeensCharacterUnderstandingWalksNovelReaderEmpathyHopefullyPlight Author:Khaled Hosseini
“I think that the more alien and strange a world or situation is, the more concise you have to be if you want the reader to follow you. It depends on what effect you're looking for.” IfsThinkingWorldWantSituationEffectsStrangeDependsReaderAliensConcise Author:Karin Tidbeck
“If you want the reader to accept the premise as a given, then being specific is vital. This is what I'm after; I want the reader to accept the setting and the mindset of the characters, so we can get on with the story.” IfsWantCharacterStoriesGivenAcceptingReaderMindsetSettingSettingsPremises Author:Karin Tidbeck
“I feel that there is an alternate ending that leaps off too far into fantasy and there is an alternate ending that leaps off too far into pessimism, but that, in fact, the novel as it has developed should, if it's functioning correctly, have equipped you as the reader to make your own decision about where you want to go with that, about where you're going to fall on that continuum. So, the novel is taking you directly up to the point that you have to choose, and it's letting you do that.” IfsWantFeelsShouldFactsFallDecisionFantasyNovelReaderLeapPessimismContinuum Author:Emily Barton
“It is always just telling a story, regardless of the age of the reader. Except, if I'm writing something for kids, I know there has to be hope. I don't necessarily feel that responsibility for adults, but I emphatically feel it for children. That's the only difference. There's no syntax difference. There's no semantics difference. There's no thematic difference.” IfsKnowsFeelsWritingChildrenStoriesKidsAgeDifferencesResponsibilityReaderAdultsSyntaxSemanticsThematic Author:Kate DiCamillo
“A book can just be a description of a stick being snapped in half. If the reader is brought to feel the plight of the stick, well, you can imagine what that would be like.” IfsFeelsWellsBookWould BeHalfImagineReaderSticksDescriptionPlight Author:Jesse Ball
“You may be somebody who writes best for a small press that doesn't pay very well, but you might have a fascinating and intricate style that might not appeal to as many readers but will be incredibly meaningful to the readers you have. Truly, that's as wonderful if not more wonderful.” IfsWritingWellsMayMightPayWonderfulStyleReaderPressesMeaningfulAppealsFascinatingIntricate Author:Alice Mattison
“What writers of fantasy, science fiction, and much historical fiction do for a living is different from what writers of so-called literary or other kinds of fiction do. The name of the game in F/SF/HF is creating fictional worlds and then telling particular stories set in those worlds. If you're doing it right, then the reader, coming to the end of the story, will say, "Hey, wait a minute, there are so many other stories that could be told in this universe!" And that's how we get the sprawling, coherent fictional universes that fandom is all about.” IfsWorldKindDifferentEndsStoriesUniverseGamesNamesWaitingFictionFantasyMinutesParticularReaderCreatingScience FictionHistoricalHeyHistorical FictionFandomsFictional Worlds Author:Neal Stephenson
“Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race isn't explicitly defined.” IfsNeedsCharacterWhiteRaceReaderAssumingDefined Author:Roxane Gay
“Best to say that once a poem is finished I trust it to make its way, and I trust readers will find their way to it and through it, if the thing has got itself rightly expressed.” IfsWayReaderFinished Author:Seamus Heaney
“As a reader, I do not like to have everything handed to me. Because after a while it gets formulaic and I'm thinking, "If this is so thought through, then why do I need to read it. It's done!" It becomes a beach book at a certain point.” IfsThinkingNeedsBookDoneCertainReaderBeach Author:John Edgar Wideman
“I'm happy to have interns at The Weekly Standard and happy to have readers of The Weekly Standard, but if you all tell me that you were busy reading Plato and [Lev] Tolstoy and playing violin in the orchestra, I'd say that was great. I wouldn't tell you to take time out from that to get involved in political journalism.” IfsPoliticalReadingReaderInvolvedStandardsBusyJournalismTake TimePlatoOrchestraGet InvolvedViolinLev Tolstoy Author:William Kristol
“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
“Unbeknownst to me, two readers of the posts, both published authors, contacted their agent, Bill Jensen, within 24 hours of each other, encouraging him to drop me a line. Which he did. He shared his extensive publishing background with me, and prayerfully offered to work out a proposal and to see if God opened any publishing doors? I never get over the unexpected ways of God.” IfsWayTwoHoursLinesDoorsReaderBillsWork OutBackgroundsAgentsPostsUnexpectedPublishingGet OverProposal Author:Ann Voskamp
“People will say you should quit running if you're a slow runner. Or you should quit basketball if you can't dribble with your left hand. I don't agree with that. If you're not a very good reader at 14, nobody thinks you should stop reading.” PeopleIfsThinkingShouldHandsRunningReadingLeftReaderBasketballAgreeVery GoodQuittingRunnersLeft HandDribble Author:Timothy Shriver
“If you understand writing as primarily engaging an imaginary reader, well, you've kind of been doing that your whole life. You walk into a room and you're engaging with imaginary strangers because you don't actually know who they are. For me, it was really empowering to say: this is a branch of entertainment and communication and engagement, as opposed to jumping over some perceived literary high bar. That was the buzzkill.” IfsKnowsWritingWellsKindWholeWalksRoomsCommunicationReaderEntertainmentStrangerWhole LifeBarsBranchesEmpoweringEngagementImaginaryEngagingJumping Author:George Saunders
“There are an awful lot of readers who won't pick up a book if they think it's got anything horrific in it, or paranormal or whatever.” IfsThinkingBookReaderPicksAwfulParanormalHorrific Author:Peter James
“If you tell the reader it's funny, then the audience is like an audience at a stand-up comedy club and they expect you to be funny, and if you're not, they notice. Whereas if you read a regular op-ed about Israel or the family or medicine, you're not starting with the assumption that you're supposed to laugh.” IfsAudienceLaughingComedyReaderMedicineStartingClubsIsraelAssumptionStand Up ComedyComedy Clubs Author:Dave Barry
“One of the keys is, and it may sound funny, talking about characters with super powers, but one of the keys is to make your characters as realistic and believable as possible. Even if they have super powers, you say to yourself, "Well, if somebody had a super power like this, what would his life be like? Wouldn't he still maybe have to go to the dentist or wouldn't he have to worry about making a living? What about his love life?" You've got to make characters that your reader can believe exists or might exist.” IfsBelieveWellsMayStillsCharacterMightLife IsSoundTalkingWorryKeysReaderLove LifeRealisticHis LoveLife Is LikeDentistBelievableMaking A LivingSuper Power Author:Stan Lee
“My "mission", if you can call it that, is to connect with my readers on an emotional level and have them come away with a stronger impression of the basic message in the story I am illustrating.” IfsStoriesLevelsEmotionalReaderMessagesStrongerMissionsImpressionIllustrating Author:Floyd Cooper
“If a character is honest with a reader, then (hopefully) that will engage the reader's empathy centers; she'll meet that openness with acceptance, and they'll forge a nourishing and meaningful bond as the book continues.” IfsBookCharacterHonestAcceptanceReaderEmpathyMeaningfulHopefullyOpenness Author:Joshua Mohr
“When I read to children, I try to become the characters. It's great if you can make a separate voice for each character. Sometimes you can lower your voice with excitement or get more intimate about it: you can lean forward and engage the children as a narrator or as a reader. It's particularly important that you find the voice that you want to use for each character, because then children can imagine that person as you're reading aloud. And of course, the illustrations help enormously.” IfsWantTryingChildrenPersonsImportantSometimesCharacterHelpingUseCoursesReadingVoiceImagineReaderExcitementIntimateImagine ThatIllustrationNarratorsReading Aloud Author:Julie Andrews
“I'm definitely excited by big ideas, both in what I write and what I read. Most days, reality is so mind-numbingly dull that I don't understand why someone would write strictly realistic stories, given the almost limitless freedom fiction provides. I don't see the point of making believe if you're not going to actually make believe: hang your ass out in the wind, push at every boundary, make almost unreasonable demands on your reader's willingness to suspend disbelief. This is dangerous, and prone to failure, but that's part of what makes it fun.” IfsWritingMindBelieveIdeasStoriesBigsRealityGivenFunFictionDangerousWindReaderDemandExcitedBoundariesAssDullWillingnessRealisticLimitlessDisbeliefUnreasonableMake BelieveBig Ideas Author:Ron Currie Jr.
“A novel must work as a story because no one's going to get to the other themes if you don't entertain the reader. But I like to have another layer of meaning, although you can read the book on one level and not bother with that other layer.” IfsBookStoriesLevelsNovelReaderBotherThemeLayers Author:Robert Cormier
“It doesn't matter whether characters are real people or not; if they're not vivid on the page, then the reader doesn't care about them that much, and, if the reader doesn't care about them that much, then they don't care what happens to them.” PeopleIfsRealMatterCharacterHappensCareReaderPagesDon't CareVivid Author:Salman Rushdie
“The process of creating art allows me to learn about the subject I'm illustrating. So, if I want to learn more about plantation life and slavery, I try to find clients that will give me an opportunity to work on projects that will visualize those experiences of the enslaved African and people of color. I get to learn about my roots, and my artwork allows the reader into that world by creating images that are accessible.” PeopleIfsWorldWantGivingTryingArtOpportunityProcessSubjectsColorReaderProjectsCreatingRootsGive MeSlaveryClientsArtworkPlantationsCreating ArtIllustrating Author:Jerry Pinkney
“As a non-western artist, you have to ask yourself a question fairly early in your life: do I want to become a bridge maker, do I want my culture to be understood by the west? I have no intentions of doing such things. I'm fine being a little strange to a non-western audience. It doesn't bother me if my book doesn't change a generation of American readers.” IfsWantLittlesBookArtistCultureAsksAudienceGenerationsStrangeFineReaderUnderstoodIntentionWestWesternBridgesBotherMakers Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“I feel like the older I get, the truer it feels that I'm only going have an investment in a poem if it allows or forces me to bring something that's supremely me onto the page. I used to think that the speaker of a poem was talking to someone else, to some ideal reader or listener, but now I think that speakers - poets - are talking to themselves. The poem allows you to pose questions that you have you ask of yourself knowing that they are unanswerable.” IfsThinkingFeelsUsedAsksForceTalkingKnowingPoetReaderPagesIdealsInvestmentSpeakersListenersTalking To Someone Author:Tracy K. Smith
“If I were less lazy, when my play was published, I would go and rewrite everything for the reader. But I don't do that. What people are reading is just me trying to get the actors and directors to do something or think about something.” PeopleIfsThinkingTryingPlayReadingActorsReaderDirectorsLazy Author:Annie Baker
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud.” IfsTryingEmotionReaderProudTerrorFinestGross Author:Stephen King
“My purpose is to entertain and please myself. I feel that if I am entertained, then there will be enough other readers who will be entertained, too.” IfsFeelsEnoughPurposeReaderPlease Author:Elmore Leonard
“I try to make the readers feel they've lived the events of the book. Just as you grieve if a friend is killed, you should grieve if a fictional character is killed. You should care. If somebody dies and you just go get more popcorn, it's a superficial experience isn't it?” IfsFeelsShouldTryingBookCharacterCareDiesEventsReaderGrievingSuperficialPopcornFictional Character Author:George R. R. Martin
“If you give me a typewriter and I'm having a good day, I can write a scene that will astonish its readers. That will perhaps make them laugh, perhaps make them cry - that will have some emotional clout to it. It doesn't cost much to do that.” IfsGivingWritingI CanLaughingCryEmotionalReaderSceneCostGive MeGood DayTypewritersHave A Good DayClout Author:Alan Moore
“In comics the reader is in complete control of the experience. They can read it at their own pace, and if there's a piece of dialogue that seems to echo something a few pages back, they can flip back and check it out, whereas the audience for a film is being dragged through the experience at the speed of 24 frames per second.” IfsSeemsFilmAudiencePiecesReaderPagesSpeedChecksDialoguePaceEchoesFlip Author:Alan Moore
“If a book I've committed myself to review turns out to be 'disappointing' I make an effort to present it objectively to the reader, including a good number of excerpts from the text, so that the reader might form his or her own opinion independent of my own.” IfsBookMightFormTurnsMy OwnNumbersEffortOpinionReaderIndependentIncludingCommittedReviewsDisappointing Author:Joyce Carol Oates