“You get a lot of narrative energy from people who make really big mistakes, who act against their best interests, who do things that turn out to have serious consequences. It's very hard make a story out of people doing the right thing over and over again.” PeopleHardStoriesBigsTurnsEnergyInterestMistakeSeriousConsequenceNarrativeRight ThingDoing The Right ThingBig Mistake Author:Kelly Link
“The biggest challenge in the research process is to let go, to stop, to say enough, and then to reduce all of that beloved labor down to a few succinct paragraphs that shape the background to your narrative. I love research - that's all the fun, especially in the field. To write, however, is to suffer, and my pieces usually come in thousands of words over the assigned length. That's a serious flaw in my writing process - shaping and disciplining the footlockers of material one has so happily gathered.” WritingEnoughSufferingFunProcessChallengesPiecesFieldsSeriousMaterialsShapesLetting GoResearchLaborBackgroundsNarrativeBelovedLengthFlawsWriting ProcessParagraph Author:Bob Shacochis
“I have this natural thing in my head that when I sit down to write something serious, I tend to make jokes. I can't help it. I can't help but desire for the narrative to be as complicated and as truthful as possible. That's just the way my head works.” WayWritingI CanHelpingDesireNaturalSeriousJokesComplicatedNarrativeTruthfulNatural Things Author:Justin Simien
“We can't write a serious novel in the 21st century without acknowledging the inescapable self-awareness we're stuck with. The idea we're surrounded by falsehoods and lies. It's hard for the thinking person to believe in narratives. And yet we want some place to invest our belief.” ThinkingWantWritingBelievePersonsIdeasSelfHardLyingBeliefNovelCenturyAwarenessSeriousSelf AwarenessStuckNarrativeFalsehood21st CenturyThinking Person Author:Michael Helm
“I love musicals but it's very, very different. It's really just a different form than serious drama, and has very different rules and a completely different set of characters and requirements and ambitions. It maybe shouldn't be as separate as it is, but it's got a different history. In terms of serious drama, I think you'd have to say that you could break it down essentially into the narrative realist tradition and experimental theater.” ThinkingDifferentCharacterFormTermBreakSeriousDramaAmbitionTraditionTheaterNarrativeRequirementsRealistI Love Music Author:Tony Kushner