“The 'interactive fiction' format hasn't changed in any fundamental way since the early 1970s, in the same way that the format of the novel hasn't since 1700.” WayFictionNovelChangedFundamentalsFormatInteractive Author:Graham Nelson
“Novel-writing is a bit like deception. You lie as little as you possibly can. That's the way I do it, anyway.” WayWritingLittlesLyingBitsNovelDeceptionNovel Writing Author:Joseph O'Neill
“My favorite novel is 'To Kill a Mockingbird' because of its broad sweep, its tackling of big issues in ways that even young minds can make sense of and for the heart of the characters, who span a wide range of ages. I reread it every year.” WayYearsMindHeartCharacterBigsAgeYoungNovelIssuesMy FavoriteWideMake SenseRangeBroadsTacklingYoung MindsMockingbirdKill A Mockingbird Author:Ridley Pearson
“You no longer have much in the way of knowing what to do in a big, epic novel about the future, because nobody knows what the hell is going to happen.” KnowsWayBigsHappensNovelHellKnowingEpicNobody KnowsKnowing What To Do Author:Jerry Pournelle
“If I had to rank my skills, I have a long way to go before I can write a good graphic novel.” IfsWayWritingLongI CanNovelSkillsLong WayGraphicGraphic NovelsLong Way To Go Author:Ted Rall
“I think predictability is built into any good novel in some way - you begin reading Anna Karenina and you know pretty much what's going to happen at the end. But that doesn't mean you know what's going to happen in the middle. For me, it's that sense of what happens in the middle that's important.” ThinkingKnowsWayMeanImportantEndsHappensReadingNovelMiddleBuiltAnnaPredictability Author:Scarlett Thomas
“In some ways I'm a frustrated scientist or mathematician. The amount of times I've thought I'd go back to university and do theoretical physics because I like the big questions, but really I know now that that's not quite me. What's me is to do it in novels.” KnowsWayBigsNovelAmountScientistUniversityPhysicsFrustratedMathematicianTheoreticalBig QuestionsTheoretical Physics Author:Scarlett Thomas
“You can't do science in a novel, but you can do philosophy. Or, if you're really lucky, you can manage to pose a question in such a way that other people will take it on.” PeopleIfsWayPhilosophyCan DoNovelLuckyManageLucky You Author:Scarlett Thomas
“I've always loved writing emotionally rich, character-driven novels that explore the way people fall in love and deal with life's triumphs and tragedies. I enjoy writing the contemporary and historical books equally, though perhaps 'enjoy' is the wrong word.” PeopleWayWritingBookCharacterFallEnjoyDealsNovelRichTragedyHistoricalFalling In LoveDrivenContemporaryTriumphWrong Words Author:Susan Wiggs
“I read Claire Messud's 'The Emperor's Children,' I read Joseph O'Neill's 'Netherland' - but to me, they're not 9/11 novels. In 'The Emperor's Children,' 9/11 felt to me like a piece of the plot; the novel wasn't wrestling with what 9/11 meant. And 'Netherland' felt the same way. I liked both books a lot but I don't see them as 9/11 novels.” WayChildrenBookFeltNovelPiecesPlotWrestlingEmperorClaireNetherlands Author:Amy Waldman
“At the risk, then, of being shunned by some of my gloomier peers, I venture to tell you that writers work like demons, suffer greatly, and are also happy, in unmistakable ways, some of the time. If we had no knowledge of happiness, our novels wouldn't sufficiently resemble real life. Some of us are even made a little bit happy, on occasion, by the writing process itself. I mean, really, if there wasn't some sort of enjoyment to be derived, would any of us keep doing it?” IfsWayWritingMeanLittlesMadeRealSufferingBitsProcessNovelRiskLittle BitReal LifeOccasionsEnjoymentDemonPeersVentureWriting Process Author:Michael Cunningham
“Each of my novels features a protagonist undertaking a difficult personal journey. On the way, each of these characters - mostly female - discovers something about herself and at the same time makes an impact on other people's lives.” PeopleWayCharacterDifficultNovelJourneyFemaleImpactFeaturesUndertakingsProtagonistsPersonal Journey Author:Juliet Marillier
“Look at it this way: if you write the novel of 'Cold Mountain,' it costs exactly the same to produce and market as a novel set in a room. If you make the film, the disparity of costs is huge.” IfsWayWritingLooksFilmRoomsNovelProduceHugeColdCostMountainDisparityCold Mountain Author:Anthony Minghella
“It's easy in a novel to be completely unambiguous about the relationship between animal and daemon simply by stating it outright; whereas you get very few opportunities to do this in an elegant way in a film.” WayFilmOpportunityEasyAnimalNovelElegant Author:Chris Weitz
“It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree’s writing. I don’t think the novels of Jane Austen could have been written by a man nor the stories of Ernest Hemingway by a woman, and in the same way I believe the author of the James Tiptree stories is male.” ThinkingMenWayWritingBelieveHas BeensStoriesI BelieveNovelWrittenTheoryFemaleMalesAbsurdMasculineCould Have BeenJaneAusten Author:Robert Silverberg
“My first two novels were set in the past, and that freed me up in a lot of ways; it allowed me to find my way into my story and my characters through research.” WayFirstsTwoCharacterStoriesPastNovelResearchMy Way Author:Jennifer Gilmore
“Brands are useful ways of short-handing practically anything - look at the way Tom Wolfe first used brand name lists to sharpen up a character and a situation. Look at the most brand-referenced novel, Bret Easton Ellis's 'Glamorama.” WayFirstsLooksCharacterUsedNamesSituationNovelListsBrandsTomsBrand Names Author:Peter York