“Giving a reader a sex scene that is only half right is like giving her half a kitten. It is not half as cute as a whole kitten; it is a bloody, godawful mess. A half-good sex scene is not half as hot; it actually moves into the negative numbers, draining any heat from the surrounding material.” GivingWholeMovingSexNumbersHalfMaterialsReaderSceneNegativeHotMessCuteHeatBloodyKittenDrainingGood Sex Author:Sandra Newman
“A ghost story of which the scene is laid in the twelfth or thirteenth century may succeed in being romantic or poetical: it will never put the reader into the position of saying to himself: "If I'm not careful, something of this kind may happen to me!” IfsKindMayStoriesHappensCenturyPositionReaderSceneSucceedCarefulGhostGhost Stories Book:Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories Source: Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories
“A lot of times, writers are told write as big as you can, and that's not untrue. But at times I think it's better to write as small as you can, to start scenes with little personal details or people who are doing average every day human things. That, to me, lets the average reader into that person's life. "Yeah I eat breakfast. I take a shower."” PeopleThinkingWritingHumansLittlesPersonsBigsReaderSceneYeahAverageDetailsBreakfastShowersUntrue Author:Don Winslow
“Never far from a dining table, the characters in Heather A. Slomski's limpid and elegant debut collection are not given to melodramatics. Civility reigns, voices are not raised, much goes unsaid. But just beneath the sophisticated composure are longing, loss, heartbreak. And how intensely familiar is the table itself, which made this reader suddenly understand how much of our real life takes place there. Heather A. Slomski is truly a fresh voice on the scene, and The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons is that rare thing, a new book as innovative in its design as it is compulsively readable.” MadeBookRealCharacterGivenVoiceLossDesignReaderLoversSceneTablesLongingRaisedReal LifeFamiliarCollectionsSophisticatedReignElegantInnovativeCivilitySpoonsDiningNew BooksDebutUnsaidComposureRare ThingsHeathersDining Table Author:Jaimy Gordon
“I try to write 'and it's all very funny' after each scene description so that the reader can imagine the movie in their head.” WritingTryingImagineReaderSceneDescription Author:Noah Baumbach
“Every reader of the Dreiser novels must cherish astounding specimens--of awkward, platitudinous marginalia, of whole scenes spoiled by bad writing, of phrases as brackish as so many lumps of sodium hyposulphite.” WritingWholeLiteratureNovelReaderScenePhrasesCherishAwkwardSpoiledLumpsAmerican LiteratureBad WritingSodium Book:A book of prefaces Source: A book of prefaces
“I am of the generation of writers who can get instant feedback from readers within hours of publication. The fan forum is extraordinary - readers from all over the world coming together to discuss, argue and debate scenes and characters from a novel. They add a layer to the story that I cannot write and yes, I will participate in that conversation and answer questions. After all, they are the people I'm writing for and their enthusiasm and questions really pushes me to raise the bar.” PeopleWorldWritingCharacterStoriesTogetherHoursAnswersNovelGenerationsFansReaderSceneConversationRaisesAddExtraordinaryArguingDebateBarsEnthusiasmInstantLayersFeedbackPublicationForumsComing TogetherRaising The Bar Author:Michael Scott
“Most of what I read is for reviewing purposes or related to something I want to write about. It's slightly utilitarian. I definitely miss that sense of being a disinterested reader who's reading purely for the pleasure of imagining his way into emotional situations and vividly realized scenes in nineteenth-century France or late nineteenth-century Russia.” WayWantWritingPurposeReadingPleasureSituationCenturyMissingEmotionalReaderSceneLateRussiaFranceRelatedNineteenth CenturyDisinterestedUtilitarian Author:Pankaj Mishra
“When you're writing a book that is going to be a narrative with characters and events, you're walking very close to fiction, since you're using some of the methods of fiction writing. You're lying, but some of the details may well come from your general recollection rather than from the particular scene. In the end it comes down to the readers. If they believe you, you're OK. A memoirist is really like any other con man; if he's convincing, he's home. If he isn't, it doesn't really matter whether it happened, he hasn't succeeded in making it feel convincing.” IfsMenFeelsWritingBelieveWellsMayBookEndsMatterCharacterHomeLyingFictionHappenedEventsParticularReaderWalkingSceneMethodDetailsNarrativeConvincingWriting A BookRecollectionFiction Writing Author:Samuel Hynes
“To me exposition always contains tenderness. While a dramatized scene is a way of proving and guaranteeing an emotional experience for the reader, exposition assumes that the reader is sophisticated and can see the universal.” WayEmotionalReaderSceneProveUniversalAssumingTendernessSophisticated Author:Akhil Sharma
“You can't hide behind the guise of fiction. No matter how autobiographical a fictional scene is, you can always tell the reader - in protecting yourself - that you made it up.” MadeMatterBehindsFictionReaderSceneMade ItGuise Author:Rob Roberge
“It's pretty easy to think of the idea of a story, and maybe even to write a scene or two, but understanding the ebb and flow of a narrative, where to leave the little clues your protagonist (and reader) need, while playing fair, takes a lot more skill and patience than you might think.” ThinkingNeedsWritingLittlesTwoIdeasStoriesMightEasyUnderstandingReaderSceneSkillsFairsFlowNarrativeClueProtagonistsEbb And Flow Author:Dennis Green
“In order to capture Mid-World for new readers, I had to streamline the original tale [ The Gunslinger Born], but I also had to incorporate scenes from earlier Dark Tower novels.” WorldOrderBornDarkNovelReaderSceneOriginalsTalesCaptureTowersDark TowerGunslinger Author:Robin Furth
“All storytelling is kind of that - there's a bit of text that you put pressure on that spits out some desire that a character has and then you follow that. The other part is that every scene raises an expectation in the reader's mind - that's part of its job is to make you look in and be curious.” MindLooksKindCharacterJobsDesireBitsReaderSceneExpectationsPressureRaisesStorytellingCuriousSpit Author:George Saunders
“When I write, I never think of segments as chapters; I think of them as scenes. I always visualize them in my mind. Then I try to get the scene down on paper as closely as I can. That's the one thing that readers don't see - what you have in your mind. The reader can only see what you get on the page.” ThinkingWritingTryingMindI CanOne ThingReaderScenePaperPagesChapters Author:Robert Cormier
“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