Elif Safak Quotes

Elif Safak
Turkish Author
Born: Oct 25, 1971
First Language Me Women Writing You
Related authors: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn C. S. Lewis Frederick Douglass George Orwell Helen Keller Henry David Thoreau Mark Twain Zig Ziglar
God is the biggest storyteller, and when we create stories, we connect with him and with each other across cultural, religious and gender boundaries. Elif Safak
God Gender Other Religious Boundaries Him Cultural Stories Biggest Storyteller Create Across Connect Each
Bad writing is like a bad relationship. Don't be addicted to it just because you are familiar with its ways. Let go. Elif Safak
Relationship You Writing Addicted Ways Bad Like Because Go Familiar Just Just Because Let Go
If there is no love between the author and the story, there is no love between the reader and the story. Elif Safak
Love No Love Between Reader Author Story
Part of me always felt like the other, the outsider, the observer. My father had two sons with his second wife, who I didn't meet until my late 20s. I was always on the periphery. In Madrid, I was the only Turk in a very international school, so I had to start thinking about identity. All these things affected me. Elif Safak
Me School Father Wife Thinking Other Late Meet Madrid About Only Had Outsider Part Observer Sons Like Until Identity Periphery Felt Always Affected His Very Who International Things Start Second Two
Books change us. Books save us. I know this because it happened to me. Books saved me. So, I do believe through stories we can learn to change, we can learn to empathize and be more connected with the universe and with humanity. Elif Safak
Me Change Humanity Believe Universe Saved Books More Through Empathize Know Learn Because Stories Happened Us Connected Save
I realized over the years if I'm writing about humor, irony, satire, I much prefer to do that in English. And if there is sorrow, melancholy, longing, I much prefer to do that in Turkish. Each language has its own strength to me, and I feel connected and attached to both Turkish and English. I dream in more than one language. Elif Safak
Strength Me Satire Writing Language Humor Longing Own Melancholy Dream About More Attached Both Feel Over Sorrow Years Than Irony Prefer Turkish Realized Much English Connected Each
I find families intriguing, perhaps because I did not grow up in one. I was raised by a feminist, independent, single mother, a divorcee. Elif Safak
Mother Single Independent Intriguing Find Perhaps Because Single Mother Feminist Up Families Did Grow Grow Up Raised
For me, writing stories is one way of feeling connected to the universe and God. Elif Safak
God Me Writing Feeling Universe Way One-Way Stories Connected
Writing is a tribute to solitude. It is choosing introversion over extroversion, lonely hours/days/weeks/years over fun and sociability. Elif Safak
Solitude Writing Lonely Tribute Over Choosing Fun
The only way to learn writing is by writing. Talent, as charming as it sounds, amounts to no more than 12 per cent of the process. Work is 80 per cent. The remaining 8 per cent is 'luck' or 'zeitgeist' - in short, things that are not in our hands. Elif Safak
Work Writing Luck Our Way Per Charming More Only Remaining Talent Learn Sounds Than Hands Short Cent Process Zeitgeist Amount Things
When I looked at people like Goya and Pina Bausch, the message I got was just do what you're passionate about. Don't think about what other people are going to say or how they're going to receive your work. Just be your work. Elif Safak
Work You People Just Be Think Other Say About Like Looked Message Got How Passionate Going Just Your Receive
There are two different ways of writing a novel. The first I call the traditional father way, when the novelist slightly situates himself or herself above the text and knows what each and every character is going to do. It's a bit like engineering. I've never felt close to that tradition. I like the second way, which relies a bit more on intuition. Elif Safak
Character Writing Father First Engineering Every Herself Way Bit Ways Slightly Intuition Above More Never Like Call Himself Knows Felt Tradition Traditional Text Close Going Different Which Novel Each Novelist Different Ways Second Two
It is tiring to be Turkish. The country is badly polarised, bitterly politicized. Every writer, journalist, poet knows that because of an article, a novel, an interview, a poem or a tweet you can be sued, put on trial, even arrested. Self-censorship is widespread. Elif Safak
You Poet Journalist Country Every Interview Trial Poem Writer Badly Put Self-Censorship Knows Because Arrested Article Tiring Turkish Tweet Even Novel Sued Widespread
English, for me, is an acquired language. I started with English at the age of 10. At the time, it was my third language. Elif Safak
Time Me Age Language Acquired English Started Third
When I was 10 years old, we moved to Spain with my mother. I learned Spanish before I learned English. But the English language stayed with me. Elif Safak
Me Mother Old Language Before Stayed Learned Years Moved Spain Spanish English English Language
Writing in another language gives me an additional freedom, an additional way of thinking. It's a challenge, but I like the challenge. Elif Safak
Freedom Me Writing Language Challenge Thinking Additional Way Gives Like Another
Turkey is a complex country. Most readers are women, of all generations, and they are passionate about books. However, the written culture is mostly patriarchal. In general, men write; women read. I would like to see this pattern changing. More women should write novels, poems, plays, and hopefully, more men will read fiction. Elif Safak
Culture Women Will Men Country Changing Books Complex Hopefully Would See About General Poems More Write Written Generations Like Most Mostly Read Readers Passionate However Patriarchal Fiction Pattern Turkey Should Novels Plays
If you are a writer from Turkey, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, you don't have the luxury of being apolitical. You can't say, 'That's politics. I'm just doing my work.' Elif Safak
Work Politics You Luxury Say Writer Doing Egypt Just Being Turkey Apolitical Pakistan Nigeria
For me, coming from the women's movement, politics is not just about parties and parliament. There is politics in our private space and in gender relations as well. Wherever there's power, there's politics. Elif Safak
Politics Me Women Space Gender Power Relations Our About Parliament Parties Well Coming Private Just Movement Wherever

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