“All kinds of mysterious phenomena exist in this world, but answers to most of them have come with advances in scientific knowledge. Love is the sole holdout-nothing can explain it. A Chinese writer by the name of Ah Cheng wrote that love is just a chemical reaction, an unconventional point of view that seemed quite fresh at the time. But if love can be controlled and initiated by means of chemistry, then novelists would be out of a job. So while he may have had his finger on the truth, I ll remain a member of the loyal opposition.”
“Novels were not arguments; a story worked, or it didn t, on its own merits. What did it matter if a detail was real or imagined? What mattered was that the detail seemed real, and that it was absolutely the best detail for the circumstance. That wasn t much of a theory, but it was all Ruth could truly commit herself to at the moment. It was time to retire that old lecture, and her penance was to endure the compliments of her former credo.”
“When you are writing, you must treat it as the most important thing in the world, even when you know it is not. This helps you take the job seriously and do your best on everything you write.”
“If your screen stays blank or your notepad empty, God cannot use your words.”
“Do not worry about what words to use. Worry about why this story needs to be told and the rest will take care of itself.”
“I m really just playing when I write. I feel like I m a kid again. I want my characters to do and say things like when I played with dolls!”
“Many a good story has been found in the bottom of a decent Rioja.”
“Inspiration do not come and cannot be found, it has to exist - somewhere, somehow. Do believe that what you are doing is the most important thing in this world, and do believe that your words can be magical. Because I know they can be and I know they are. If you feel that you are lost in your own mind, don’t think, just write. Sometimes we have to erase our thoughts and memories to gain enough strength to be able to write down our inner thoughts. If you don’t know what it is, if you think it’s ridiculous or silly, you’re definitely on the right way. Sometimes you will hate your words and sometimes you will love them. This is the fun part of greatness in which the other part definitely will be your devil. Remember; with greatness comes obstacles.”
“A lot of artists start out as failed poets, then move on to being failed short-story writers before they finally break through to the big time and become failed novelists.”
“Writing, is not a race. Is to distill the soul letter by letter in a slow and delicate process that will take years.”
“Never stop writing. Whether you’re writing a novel, screen play or just keeping a journal, it’s integral that you make writing a daily process. The proof of the commitment to your craft is just how much time you spend doing it, whether it’s for business or pleasure. Integrate your craft into your every day life, and you’ll be as good as gold.”
“Writing is like painting a painting. Layer over layer over layer.”
“(Live + Think) x Different = Write Different”
“Books most certainly don t write themselves, but life does. When in doubt about what to write, use your own life.”
“Everything you need to know about life can be learned from a genuine and ongoing attempt to write”
“Of course, the writer can impose control; It s just a really shitty idea. Writing controlled fiction is called plotting. Buckling your seatbelt and letting the story take over, however... that is called storytelling. Storytelling is as natural as breathing; plotting is the literary version of artificial respiration.”
“Live inside your stories, yes, but do not hide behind them.”