“Ever since I was first read to, then started reading to myself, there has never been a line read that I didn't hear. As my eyes followed the sentence, a voice was saying it silently to me. It isn't my mother's voice, or the voice of any person I can identify, certainly not my own. It is human, but inward, and it is inwardly that I listen to it. It is to me the voice of the story or the poem itself.” FirstsHumansPersonsI CanStoriesEyeMotherReadingVoiceLinesMy OwnSentencesInward Book:One Writer's Beginnings Source: One Writer's Beginnings
“Our life is so short that every time I see my children, I enjoy them as much as I can. Whenever I can, I enjoy my beloved, my family, my friends, my apprentices. But mainly I enjoy myself, because I am with myself all the time. Why should I spend my precious time with myself judging myself, rejecting myself, creating guilt and shame? Why should I push myself to be angry or jealous? If I don't feel good emotionally, I find out what is causing it and I fix it. Then I can recover my happiness and keep going with my story.” IfsFeelsShouldChildrenI CanStoriesFeelingsHappinessLife IsTimeEnjoyFamilyOur LivesJudgingFriendsCreatingMy FriendsMy FamilyShameAngryGuiltFeel GoodJealousyMy ChildrenBelovedKeep GoingJealousShould IGood FriendRejectingApprenticeLife Is So ShortPrecious TimeJudging Myself Author:Miguel Angel Ruiz
“With God's help, I've not had a drink in nine and a half years. That's my whole story right there. And because of that, I'm doing this. I'm making records, I'm touring. I was so involved in just getting brain damaged, I wasn't doing anything. I had great ideas, many notebooks filled with notes, some of them I can read and some of them I just can't read, but I really didn't do anything constructive, it was all just good ideas. Now I'm trying to lead a constructive life a day at a time.” TryingYearsI CanIdeasWholeHelpingStoriesBrainHalfRecordsInvolvedDrinkFilledNotesNineGood IdeasConstructiveTouringNotebookGreat IdeaHalf A YearI Can Read Author:Ringo Starr
“I'm not trying to explain other cultures, or to give a fair and balanced account of a country, or the top ten things you need to know. I'm not trying to spread world peace and understanding. I'm not an advocate or an activist or an educator or a journalist. I'm out there trying to tell stories the best I can.” KnowsWorldNeedsGivingTryingI CanCountryStoriesCultureUnderstandingTenFairsAccountsSpreadJournalistActivistBalancedEducatorOther Cultures Author:Anthony Bourdain
“It's all still about having a good story. You have to have a good story as your anchor, as your main focus. So for me, personally, I just like to concentrate on writing the best book I can, and if there's other stuff that goes along with it, that's awesome, as long as the story is central.” IfsWritingLongStillsI CanBookStoriesStuffFocusAnchorsGood Story Author:Rick Riordan
“I love story-writing because I can (more or less, on occasion) actually DO it. That's really the truth. I like the idea that a story is sort of a site for making cool language effects - a site for celebrating language, and, therefore, the world. And the brevity is part of the challenge. I like stories because I get them - I know how to make beauty, or something like beauty, in that mode.” KnowsWorldWritingI CanIdeasStoriesLanguageChallengesKnow HowEffectsLove StoryCelebrateOccasionsSiteBecause I CanBrevityStory Writing Author:George Saunders
“On a more technical level, a story takes a lot of words. And to generate words and phrases and images and so on, that will compel the reader to continue reading - that stand a chance of really grabbing a reader - the writer has to work out of a place of, let's say, familiarity and affection. The matrix of the story has to be made out of stuff the writer really knows about and likes. The writer can't be stretching and (purely) inventing all the time. Well, I can't, anyway.” KnowsWellsMadeI CanStoriesReadingStuffChanceLevelsReaderAffectionWork OutLikesPhrasesFamiliarityStretchingInventingGrabbing Author:George Saunders
“I know I'll keep writing poems. That's the constant. I don't know about novels. They're hard. It takes so much concentrated effort. When I'm writing a novel it's pretty much all I can do. I get bored. It takes months. Movies do the same thing. It's all-encompassing. It feels like I'm going to end up writing poems, short stories and screenplays.” KnowsFeelsWritingI CanEndsHardStoriesCan DoEffortNovelMonthsConstantBoredShort StoryScreenplaysWriting Poems Author:Sherman Alexie