“If you think it's worth writing a book about then that means you suspect that you're not the only one. You suspect that it has something to do with the larger patterns of your culture.” IfsThinkingWritingMeanBookCulturePatternsSuspectsWriting A Book Author:Lucy Corin
“Writing books is one of the ways that human beings deal with loss, especially when you don't have religious consolation available.” WayWritingHumansBookReligiousHuman BeingsLossDealsAvailableConsolationWriting A Book Author:Marco Roth
“It's not so much less pressure, it's less work, which is really exciting to me. I'm just personally looking forward to being able to spend a little more time doing different things, so that's really great. Jay and I are writing a book this year which is really fun and so yeah, I am very excited to spend less crazy 12-hour days on set. Those were taxing times.” WritingYearsLittlesBookDifferentAbleFunHoursCrazyExcitingPressureYeahExcitedDifferent ThingsMore TimeReally GreatLooking ForwardWriting A Book Author:Mark Duplass
“The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading in order to write. A man will turn over half a library to make a book.” MenWritingBookTimeOrderTurnsReadingPowerfulHalfWrittenLibraryWriting LifeWriting A BookGreat WritersWriters And WritingBook WritingWriter's BlockWriting By WritersGreat WritingReading And WritingWriters ReadingWriting And ReadingInspiring WritingReading WritingWriting From Famous AuthorsEnglish Writing Author:Samuel Johnson
“A man will turn over half a library to make one book.” MenWritingBookTurnsHalfWrittenLibraryWriting LifeCreative WritingWriting A BookWriters And WritingBook WritingNew BooksWriter's BlockWriting By WritersGreat WritingWriters ReadingInspiring WritingWriting From Famous AuthorsEnglish WritingLibrary Research Author:Samuel Johnson
“You realize that especially when you're writing a book like this, looking back on your life, that there's just such a depth of understanding you acquire over time with the help of the people who love you that that's when you can really get down to what you really think and believe.” PeopleThinkingWritingBelieveBookHelpingUnderstandingRealizingLove YouDepthAcquireLooking BackWriting A BookUnderstanding You Author:Anna Quindlen
“For many years I wanted to be a rock star but of course that didn't work out. I did however write on napkins and pieces of paper sentences and occurrences. I decided maybe I should write a book because I had been writing so much. I'm actually writing a book based on The Room that will hopefully be published soon.” ShouldWritingYearsBookWantedCoursesStarsRoomsPiecesRocksPaperDecidedWork OutSentencesHopefullyRock StarWriting A BookNapkins Author:Tommy Wiseau
“I couldn't imagine someone playing me or writing a book about who I am. Although I let people write articles and try and express who I am, and it blows up wildly in my face.” PeopleWritingTryingBookFacesImagineBlowWho I AmArticlesWriting A Book Author:Jonah Hill
“I certainly wouldn't be writing books if it hadn't been for the feminist blogosphere, and I think that's a really amazing thing.” IfsThinkingWritingBookFeministWriting A BookAmazing ThingsReally Amazing Author:Jessica Valenti
“Some things go better than you expected, other things go worse, so I'm... I think the only sensible thing is just to wait and see and what I'm doing when I'm writing books - I'm not doing science so much anymore.” ThinkingWritingBookWaitingExpectedSensibleWriting A BookBetter Than You Author:Freeman Dyson
“Mostly I'm just writing books for the public, and so I try to describe for the public what the choices are, what they might have to expect in the future and so by warning people ahead of time maybe you have an effect.” PeopleWritingTryingBookMightChoicesEffectsWarningWriting A BookAhead Of Time Author:Freeman Dyson
“Writing a book is the most difficult, anxiety-prone aspect of my life because the words that I put on paper are very serious to me.” WritingBookDifficultSeriousPaperAnxietyAspectWriting A Book Author:Frank Luntz
“Every time when it comes to writing a book, I think, "I'm the last person in the world that should be doing this, I don't know anything, I can't do this." And I went through years of that with Into The Maelstrom.” ThinkingKnowsWorldShouldWritingYearsPersonsI CanBookLastsWriting A BookThrough The YearsMaelstrom Author:David Toop
“You try to learn who you are. You work hard. You've either got it or you don't when it comes to writing books. And you tend to only get these things if you want them, and want them to the exclusion of everything else.” IfsWantWritingTryingBookHardHard WorkWho You AreWriting A BookExclusion Author:James Ellroy
“Whether you're writing a book or a song or whatever, you've got to be involved in it. It's got to come from the heart I think...that's what it's all about.” ThinkingWritingHeartBookSongInvolvedWriting A Book Author:Van Morrison
“Whether it's films or painting or music or writing a book, the greatest experience is being able to express yourself and what you've gone through, trying to figure out a way to make it into something that's artistic that people can connect with.” PeopleWayWritingTryingBookAbleFilmGoneFiguresPaintingArtisticWriting A BookExpress Yourself Author:Rob Reiner
“When I'm writing a book, I draw from my immediate experience, and my books are therefore almost a snapshot of where I am at that moment in my life.” WritingBookMomentsDrawsThat MomentWriting A BookSnapshots Author:Maria Semple
“I'm supposed to be writing a book, and I can hardly read.” WritingI CanBookSupposed To BeWriting A Book Author:Mark Fidrych
“I personally love books that make me think, so I naturally gravitate toward writing a book like that, one that's going to make someone think and make me think.” ThinkingWritingBookWriting A Book Author:Sharon Cameron
“We'd decided to write a book about two friends. I gave her some coffee and then we sat there not knowing what to do. How do you start writing a book together? So Kate [DiCamillo] got up after about 10 minutes into this endeavor, and said, 'Well, that was fun,' and started to head out the door. I said, 'Wait, wait, wait, no no no,' because I'm a bit more patient.” WritingWellsSaidTwoBookTogetherFunBitsWaitingKnowingDoorsMinutesDecidedPatientCoffeeSatEndeavorNot KnowingWriting A BookKateTwo FriendsKnowing What To Do Author:Alison McGhee
“I start my process hand written, and then I dump it in. It's like you're getting a second draft 'cause when I put it in the computer, I fix it and change stuff. That's my process. I picked that up from speaking to Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill. I was messing around with the idea of starting to write more, writing a book and doing things like this, and I reached out for advice. They were like, "Oh, we hand write, and then we dump it all in." I was like, "Great! There's no more blank pages."” WritingBookIdeasHandsCausesStuffProcessWrittenAdviceLike YouComputerPagesStartingHillsBlankWriting A BookDumpBlank PagesGaimanStarting To Write Author:Gerard Way
“It's my story ["Selling Isobel"].I chose to write a screenplay about it because I think film is the quickest medium to get a story out, rather than writing a book.” ThinkingWritingBookStoriesFilmSellingMediumsWriting A BookScreenplays Author:Frida Farrell
“I considered writing a book too, but I think people don't like to read, to be honest - they want to watch. People want to see crazy things, so we decided to make a film ["Selling Isobel"] instead.” PeopleThinkingWantWritingBookFilmWatchesCrazyHonestDecidedSellingBeing HonestWriting A BookCrazy Things Author:Frida Farrell
“Writing a book about [Buckminster Fuller] in the sense of deciding how much to - how much biographically to gloss over and how much I can leave out is relatively easy as it is because the true believers already know everything. They know a lot of things that are not true and they know a lot of things that I thought were (and seems there's very good evidence not to believe) and therefore, my starting point was I think to tell his myth because that's what grabbed me.” ThinkingKnowsWritingBelieveI CanBookSeemsEasyEvidenceStartingVery GoodMythBelieverWriting A BookStarting PointTrue BelieverGlossBuckminster Fuller Author:Jonathon Keats
“In researching literary agents I did what the books tell you to do: I looked at the acknowledgments page of a book that was similar to mine. Happily, that author thanked his agent. I looked up the agent on the web and found out that he not only represented authors writing books similar to mine, but I knew some of his clients! So, I sent in the manuscript, and they decided to represent it.” WritingBookFoundMinesPagesDecidedAgentsClientsWriting A BookManuscriptsAcknowledgmentLiterary Agents Author:Debra Hamel
“I think theres just this mystique of writing a book that appeals to people. A person has to really check their motives and say, Am I really being called by God to do this? Or is this just something that would look neat in my funeral? I dont mean to be harsh but I think a person really needs to, so they wont be disappointed.” PeopleThinkingNeedsWritingLooksMeanPersonsBookChecksAppealsMotiveDisappointedFuneralHarshWriting A BookNeatMystiqueCalled By God Author:Max Lucado
“There's something not normal about you if you're writing a book about yourself, or about anything. And if you're the kind of person who can deal with being recognized by strangers and if that's tolerable or pleasing to you, and not immediately terrifying, that's not normal either.” IfsWritingKindPersonsBookDealsNormalStrangerAbout YourselfWriting A BookTolerable Author:Anthony Bourdain
“Writing a book set in New Mexico was partially a way to express my own love for the state, and partially a way to prudently follow the advice to write what you know.” KnowsWayWritingBookStatesMy OwnAdviceMexicoWriting A BookNew Mexico Author:Liza Campbell
“At the end, I cobbled scenes all together and smoothed out the transitions as much as possible. Incidentally, I would not recommend this approach to writing a book, and will probably not write that way again!” WayWritingBookEndsTogetherSceneApproachTransitionWriting A Book Author:Liza Campbell
“Following takes why. Transactions take what. It has to be real. It has to be the same for writing a book.” WritingBookRealFollowingBeing RealWriting A BookTransactions Author:Simon Sinek
“I'd never written nonfiction about the war on drugs, but I know a tremendous amount about it: I taught a class on it for seven years. I was putting into words the stuff I was teaching, and I was writing it up and thought, "Dude, you're writing a book."” KnowsWritingYearsBookWarStuffClassWrittenTeachingTaughtAmountDrugSevenNonfictionSeven YearsWriting A BookWar On Drugs Author:Ayelet Waldman
“I've been writing a book called The Economics of Innocent Fraud. I published part of it already in The Progressive ("Free Market Fraud," January 1999). But I've been interrupted these last few months. It deals with all of the things we do, in an innocent way, to cover up the truth.” WayWritingBookLastsDealsMonthsEconomicsInnocentProgressiveFraudFree MarketWriting A BookJanuaryInterruptedCover Ups Author:John Kenneth Galbraith
“I never have written every day. When I'm writing a book, I write Monday through Friday. I always try to take Saturday and pretend to have some sanity.” WritingTryingBookWrittenSanitySaturdayMondayFridayWriting A Book Author:Maya Angelou
“Well I've been writing books. So that, by its nature, is kind of a solitary occupation. And from time to time I have research help, but mostly I've done those completely on my own.” WritingWellsKindBookDoneHelpingMy OwnResearchOccupationSolitaryWriting A Book Author:Caroline Kennedy
“As a digital creator, there's been so much pressure to write a book because so many of my peers have done it. I've been very adamant about saying, "No! I don't want to release a book just for the sake of writing a book. I'm going to write a book when I feel like I have something to say in a book."” WantFeelsWritingBookDonePressureSakeCreatorReleaseDigitalPeersWriting A BookSaying NoAdamant Author:Lilly Singh
“The greatest thing about writing a book is that at first it's all inchoate, but the more you work on it, the more the book teaches you its internal rules.” WritingFirstsBookTeachInternalsWriting A Book Author:George Saunders
“From about ninth grade on, I knew I was a writer at heart. I had fantasies of being a great novelist, but I thought that seemed like an iffy way to try to make a living. So I tried journalism while in college, and really liked it. But even in journalism, I've always pursued ways to be somewhat literary, whether writing a column or writing books.” WayWritingTryingHeartBookFantasyCollegeJournalismNovelistsGradesPursuedColumnsWriting A BookNinth Grade Author:Kevin Maney
“That's all you have to ask from yourself writing a book. That it's the best you can do and that you did it without any ego involved and that you did it for somebody else. That's the best you can do.” WritingBookAsksCan DoInvolvedEgoWriting A Book Author:Sandra Cisneros
“Movies are definitely more fun because there are so many different seasons in a movie. It is exciting to be drafting together. Writing a book is very hard, it's like writing 15 college term papers in a row, and you are just like, "when is going to end?" You can communicate so much more when you are writing a book, and you can go so much deeper.” WritingBookDifferentEndsHardTogetherFunTermCollegePaperSeasonsExcitingCommunicateDeeperPapersWriting A BookDraftingTerm Paper Author:Stephen Kendrick
“When I'm really plugged in I find it difficult to write. It's like digging a well. If you make a void, something moves in to fill it. Writing books is like that. It's mostly about freeing up time, doing nothing, and in that time some writing starts to happen. We need to figure out how to maintain those voids.” IfsNeedsWritingWellsBookHappensMovingDifficultFiguresVoidDoing NothingWriting A BookDigging Author:Mohsin Hamid
“Writing a book is like running a marathon. You need to be fit to do it, mentally and, as far as possible, physically.” NeedsWritingBookRunningFitMarathonWriting A BookRunning Marathon Author:Catherine Mayer
“If you're writing a book where you want to make a positive truth claim, then you should absolutely call it nonfiction or memoir. If you don't want to make that claim - if that's not what's important to you; if you're more interested in storytelling and interiority and interpersonal relationships than in objective, checkable facts about the world - then why wouldn't you call it a novel, and take advantage of what that gets you, of the extra freedom, of belonging to the tradition of the novel?” IfsWorldWantShouldWritingImportantBookFactsNovelAdvantageTraditionClaimsMemoirObjectivesStorytellingExtrasBelongingNonfictionWriting A BookWhat's ImportantInterpersonalInterpersonal Relationship Author:Elif Batuman
“My wife, Amanda, is terribly good at warping reality. She is like a bowling ball on a rubber sheet, and you find yourself living in her universe, doing things that are completely unexpected or unimaginable for you, but you blink and you're up on a stage singing, or wearing a peculiar wig, or writing a book filled with feelings and emotion, or doing something equally as unlikely.” WritingBookFeelingsRealityUniverseEmotionWifeStageSingingBallsFilledMy WifeUnexpectedFinding YourselfPeculiarSheetsUnlikelyFeelings And EmotionsWriting A BookBlinkRubberUnimaginableWigsBowlingAmanda Author:Neil Gaiman
“I'm very happy. I like my work and I like the various aspects of it - going around the world, teaching the gospel according to St. Albert - I like that. And seeing clients, doing group therapy, writing books.” WorldWritingBookSeeingGroupsTeachingAspectVariousAround The WorldTherapyClientsVery HappyWriting A BookGroup Therapy Author:Albert Ellis
“I get absolutely ruthless in my own way about not doing anything else when I am trying to concentrate on writing a book. I have to stick to it and concentrate.” WayWritingTryingBookMy OwnSticksRuthlessWriting A Book Author:Jane Jacobs
“My problem is that people have been writing books about me.A lot of things that people write about you are incorrect, but you don't fight about it.” PeopleWritingHas BeensBookProblemFightingWriting A Book Author:Diana Ross
“I'm crazy about Diane Von Furstenberg. It's a relationship that's very different; I don't see Diane a lot. So when I saw the article in New York magazine she looked so beautiful and it was talking about her work, too. She set up the interview and it was happening. That's different than someone writing a book about you who you've never met.” WritingBookDifferentBeautifulTalkingSawsCrazyNew YorkMetsHappeningsMagazinesInterviewsArticlesWriting A Book Author:Diana Ross
“Even though Lyndon Johnson's presidency was in many ways scarred forever by the war in Vietnam, and destroyed in a lot of ways, he - as a character - was even larger than his presidency. Being able to get to know him well, that firsthand relationship with this large character, I think is what drew me to writing books about presidents.” ThinkingKnowsWayWritingWellsBookWarCharacterAblePresidentForeverDestroyedVietnamPresidencyJohnsonWriting A Book Author:Doris Kearns Goodwin
“Writing a book about Jeremy Corbyn, set out with two objectives. The first was simple: to explain how he became the leader of the Labour Party. I was disappointed - but not at all surprised - at the complete absence of intellectual curiosity on display. The second objective I had to try to capture for posterity the excitement and spirit of the first Corbyn campaign. Those moments when the impossible suddenly becomes possible are so powerful to those who experience them. I think it's politically valuable to relive such moments, to learn the lessons of what went right.” ThinkingWritingTryingFirstsTwoBookMomentsSpiritSimplePowerfulPartyLeaderImpossibleLessonsIntellectualCuriosityValuableAbsenceCampaignsObjectivesExcitementLabourDisappointedCaptureDisplayPosterityWriting A BookLabour PartyIntellectual Curiosity Author:Alex Nunns
“Even though I'm a writer and I love books and writing books is my favorite thing to do, when you teach, and you can go through the history of children's television, and I show certain things, the students' jaws just drop. You're never going to hit the hammer quite as hard in print.” WritingBookTeachMy FavoritePrintWriting A Book Author:David Bianculli