“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
“Generally my favorite remarks always come from my readers. I've had people say my books made them laugh, or cry, or that it frightened them late at night.” PeopleMadeBookNightLaughingCryReaderLateMy FavoriteFrightenedRemarks Author:Patrick Rothfuss
“I want to leave my readers with a sequence of ideas/phrases that makes them question something they'd taken for granted. Or that confuses them to the point that they laugh, but contains one or two phrases/lines that stick in their minds.” WantMindTwoIdeasLinesLaughingTakenReaderSticksGrantedPhrasesSequenceTaken For Granted Author:Aaron Belz
“The only place where you can really surprise or shock the reader, or make someone laugh, is on the lower righthand corner - the very last panel - so as you turn the page, the payoff is in the upper lefthand panel. To pace every story so that there's a setup and a payoff at the page turn was a huge challenge; it's a part of the medium and you really have to learn what can be done in the medium.” DoneStoriesLastsTurnsChallengesLaughingHugeReaderPagesSurpriseCornersMediumsShockPacePayoffSetupsMake Someone Laugh Author:Chuck Palahniuk
“I believe with all my heart in delivering on my contract with my readers. They've got plenty of other things to do, so I had better give them a reason to turn every one of these 550 pages. This is my promise: I solemnly swear I'll make you laugh out loud at least once, cry a little in private, and burn whatever you left on the stove.” GivingBelieveHeartLittlesReasonTurnsLeftI BelieveLaughingCryReaderMy HeartPromisePagesPlentyLoudThings To DoContractsSwearDeliveringMake You LaughStovesLaugh Out Loud Author:Barbara Kingsolver
“I try to write about complex issues--young people in an adult world-- full of irony and contradiction in a narrative style that relies heavily on suspense with a texture rich in emotion and imagery. I take a great deal of satisfaction in using popular forms-- the adventure, the mystery, the thriller-- so as to hold my reader with the sheer pleasure of a good story. At the same time I try to resolve my books with an ambiguity that compels engagement. In short, I want my readers to feel, to think, sometimes to laugh. But most of all I want them to enjoy a good read.” PeopleThinkingWorldWantFeelsWritingTryingBookSometimesStoriesFormYoungEnjoyPleasureDealsEmotionLaughingIssuesRichMysteryStyleAdventureReaderAdultsComplexesSatisfactionSuspenseNarrativeIronyRelyContradictionResolveEngagementSheerImageryAmbiguityTextureGood StoryThrillersGood Reads Author:Avi
“I want my readers to feel, to think, sometimes to laugh. But most of all I want them to enjoy a good read.” ThinkingWantFeelsSometimesEnjoyLaughingReaderGood Reads Author:Avi
“I feel no obligation to teach my readers anything, to impart any sort of wisdom, to teach any sort of lesson, to instill any sort of morality. All I'm trying to do is make them and their parents laugh.” FeelsTryingParentTeachLaughingReaderMoralityLessonsObligationImpartInstill Author:Michael Ian Black
“Could there be a more hilarious sad sack than Duncan Leland, whose trials and tribulations, so wittily conveyed, had me laughing (and wincing) from the first page? Hart's Maine landscape is rich with eccentric characters, dried fish, and other surprising and original treasures. While Duncan sinks, the reader will float on a cloud nine of classy entertainment.” FirstsCharacterLaughingRichReaderPagesOriginalsCloudsFishesEntertainmentTreasureNineTrialsLandscapeSurprisingFloatsEccentricTribulationMaineTrials And TribulationsHartDuncanCloud Nine Author:Mameve Medwed
“Not every story lends itself tonally to humor, so you have to navigate that territory properly. You can put a humorous spin on anything, really, if you know what you're doing, but it's not always desirable to have your reader laughing on every page.” IfsKnowsStoriesLaughingReaderPagesHumorousTerritoryDesirableNavigate Author:Kevin Keck
“I think of Mercy Watson like a superball; there's a bouncy kind of optimism to her stories. She allows me to play, and she makes me laugh. Hopefully readers feel the same way.” ThinkingWayFeelsKindPlayStoriesLaughingReaderOptimismMercyHopefullyThink Of MeWatsonMake Me Laugh Author:Kate DiCamillo
“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
“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