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Andrew Sean Greer Quotes
Andrew Sean Greer Quotes
Andrew Sean Greer
American
Novelist
Born:
1970
About
Book
Love
Me
Think
You
Related authors:
Elie Wiesel
Ernest Hemingway
H. P. Lovecraft
James Baldwin
John Updike
Leo Rosten
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Richard Bach
Some books inspire one to read, and some inspire one to write; for selfish reasons, I'm always looking for the latter.
Andrew Sean Greer
Selfish
Inspire
Looking
Books
Latter
Some
Write
Read
Always
Reasons
Human love and desire is my bag.
Andrew Sean Greer
Love
Bag
Human
Human Love
Desire
There's a certain point in chemistry and in calculus where I reached the end of my abilities, and I realized, 'This is where I'm stupid.'
Andrew Sean Greer
Stupid
Chemistry
Ability
Point
Calculus
Reached
End
Where
Realized
Certain
Certain Point
During every book, I have a nervous breakdown. Usually it's about two thirds of the way through the book - I'm just comatose on the couch for at least a week, and I eventually break through it and have an answer about how to fix the thing.
Andrew Sean Greer
Book
Nervous
Every
Way
Nervous Breakdown
About
Couch
Week
Through
Answer
How
Least
Fix
Just
Break
Breakdown
Eventually
Thing
Two
Two-Thirds
You can look at my books and not find particular joy on every page because, of course, what you want to write about is the difficulty of the human experience. You don't want to lie about things to make happy endings and weddings if they don't deserve to happen. But I would be lying if I didn't try to communicate some of the pleasure of being alive.
Andrew Sean Greer
You
Happy
Experience
Lie
Joy
Communicate
Try
Every
Difficulty
Lying
Books
Pleasure
Alive
Would
Would-Be
Find
Some
About
Weddings
Write
Particular
Look
Make
Course
Because
Endings
Human
Being
Want
Happen
Human Experience
Page
Deserve
Things
I was raised Unitarian, and my mother said she took us to church so that we wouldn't get religious later in life.
Andrew Sean Greer
Life
Mother
Church
Took
Later
Religious
She
Said
Get
Us
Unitarian
Raised
You write three pages over six hours, and you don't feel like you've gotten anywhere, but if you've done a beautiful metaphor or a lovely sentence, or you finally got to some moment you wanted, then that's worth it. Then you can close your computer and get a little relief.
Andrew Sean Greer
Beautiful
You
Worth
Three
Finally
Worth It
Relief
Some
Computer
Write
Feel
Over
Like
Hours
Got
Metaphor
Gotten
Close
Get
Done
Six
Wanted
Lovely
Anywhere
Little
Sentence
Then
Pages
Your
Moment
I don't read literary blogs. I used to read them, but it was upsetting when they would talk, in a snarky way, about my friends.
Andrew Sean Greer
Way
Would
About
Talk
Read
Blogs
Friends
Upsetting
Literary
Them
Used
Can you call and thank reviewers? I always wondered that.
Andrew Sean Greer
You
Call
Always
Reviewers
Wondered
Thank
A downside to being a successful novelist? Wow - I can't imagine one.
Andrew Sean Greer
Wow
Being
Successful
Novelist
Downside
Imagine
Science fiction writers, when I was a kid, were a big deal.
Andrew Sean Greer
Science
Big
Kid
Writers
Science Fiction
Science Fiction Writers
Deal
Big Deal
Were
Fiction
Fiction Writers
I never wanted to be a scientist.
Andrew Sean Greer
Never
Scientist
Wanted
I love going to writers' colonies in pastoral settings where there's nothing to do but either walk around or read a book or work on your book, and they all seem helpful.
Andrew Sean Greer
Work
Love
Book
Walk
Nothing
Settings
Seem
Colonies
Writers
Read
Around
Going
Where
Either
Your
Helpful
It's hard to tell if I've had writer's block because it seems to me that it's when nothing comes, but, you know, every day you stare at that computer screen, and I think, 'It's never going to happen today. How can I write three pages?' And the hours pass, and they haven't shown up, and then at the very end it always happens, so it's willpower.
Andrew Sean Greer
Today
Day
Me
You
Every Day
Three
Nothing
Every
Think
Tell
Willpower
Seems
Computer
Write
Writer
Computer Screen
Never
Had
Hours
Know
Because
Pass
Always
How
Block
End
Up
Very
Going
Screen
Happen
Happens
Then
Pages
Hard
Shown
Stare
I think, like, fiction has a place to understand those things that are hardest to understand that non-fiction can't ever get at.
Andrew Sean Greer
Think
Those
Like
Non-Fiction
Understand
Get
Fiction
Place
Ever
Hardest
Things
For writers: don't hold back. Be weird. Be sentimental. Be melodramatic. Take the risk of being not-cool, not-hip.
Andrew Sean Greer
Back
Risk
Take
Writers
Weird
Being
Hold
Sentimental
Critics, how I would love if you could clear the word 'sentimental' from your minds.
Andrew Sean Greer
Love
You
Word
Minds
Would
Critics
Could
Clear
How
Sentimental
Your
Any gay man in America redeals a deck at some point.
Andrew Sean Greer
Gay
Man
Some
Point
America
Any
Deck
I would write these novels about bullies in school: 'The Bullies: a Novel.'
Andrew Sean Greer
School
Would
About
Write
Bullies
Novel
Novels
My own accumulation of influences is actually what made me a writer in the first place.
Andrew Sean Greer
Me
Made
First
Own
My Own
Writer
First Place
Accumulate
Influences
Place
Actually
I'm not despairing of love at all.
Andrew Sean Greer
Love
Despairing
I had never heard of 'young adult novels,' which I guess are about teenage gangs and the new boy in town or something.
Andrew Sean Greer
Young
Teenage
Guess
About
Something
Adult
Never
Had
New
Town
Boy
Heard
Young Adult
Which
Gangs
Novels
I think I'm a terrible researcher. I find it very boring and frustrating, but the things you can find are better than what I could imagine. And when you find them, it's wonderful, and they don't feel artificial.
Andrew Sean Greer
You
Wonderful
Better
Think
Find
Boring
Could
Feel
Terrible
Very
Than
Artificial
Frustrating
Them
Researcher
Things
Imagine
My mom is an experimental chemist and physicist, so she is a cut-and-dried, nuts-and-bolts kind of woman, and my dad is a theoretical chemist, so we were definitely raised with his philosophical point of view: imaginary numbers and dimensions beyond our own. That's the kind of thing we would talk about.
Andrew Sean Greer
Mom
Woman
Own
Our
Philosophical
Definitely
Dimensions
Kind
Would
About
Physicist
Point
Point Of View
Beyond
Talk
She
Chemist
Were
His
Experimental
View
Theoretical
Dad
Thing
Imaginary
Raised
Numbers
I was good in biology, but I did very badly in chemistry, and my parents were horrified by that.
Andrew Sean Greer
Good
Parents
Chemistry
Biology
Horrified
Badly
Were
Very
Did
My grandmother wore a beehive hairdo even when it was out of fashion.
Andrew Sean Greer
Fashion
Out
Hairdo
Beehive
Wore
Grandmother
Even
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