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Patrick deWitt Quotes
Patrick deWitt Quotes
Patrick deWitt
Canadian
Novelist
Born:
1975
Good
Me
People
Work
Writing
You
Related authors:
Claire Cameron
David Bergen
Joy Fielding
Margaret Atwood
Mordecai Richler
Robertson Davies
Ruth Ozeki
Lies can be wonderful things, and when a lie is told artfully, if it's done with a degree of craftsmanship, I can't help but admire the liar.
Patrick deWitt
Lie
Wonderful
Liar
Degree
Lies
Admire
Wonderful Things
Done
Craftsmanship
Help
Things
I think of myself as somebody who, in a moment-to-moment way, I'm quite happy. But I think I am a bit doubtful and wary of true happiness, and, like a lot of my friends, there's been a good degree of self-sabotage.
Patrick deWitt
Happiness
Myself
Good
Happy
True Happiness
Degree
Somebody
Think
Way
Bit
True
Like
Am
Been
Lot
Friends
Quite
Doubtful
Who
Wary
A lot of authors, judging by their list, will put anything out that they finish... That's the worst model I've heard of in my life. It's just idiotic. Why wouldn't you just wait for the good ones?
Patrick deWitt
Life
Good
You
Wait
Will
My Life
Worst
Out
Good Ones
Finish
Put
Judging
Idiotic
Heard
Lot
Model
Authors
List
Just
Anything
Why
My first book didn't even have a Canadian publisher. And that upset me, because I so wanted a readership up there.
Patrick deWitt
Me
Book
First
Readership
Because
Up
Canadian
Upset
Wanted
Even
Publisher
Bernie Madoff is probably more nuanced then I'm giving him credit for, but I just couldn't get under his skin.
Patrick deWitt
Giving
Skin
More
Him
His
Get
Just
Then
Credit
Especially if you're endeavouring daily to write your own books, you read with a degree of - well, it's hard to forget you're a writer when you're reading.
Patrick deWitt
Daily
You
Degree
Reading
Own
Books
Write
Writer
Well
Read
Forget
Your
Hard
I felt like love has been underrepresented - unironic love, just actually really falling in love.
Patrick deWitt
Love
Has-Been
Like
Felt
Falling
Falling In Love
Been
Just
Really
Actually
I don't consider Los Angeles home anymore; ultimately, it was pretty negative, but I did spend my formative years in the Valley and all around L.A. proper. Through my teenage years and into my young adulthood, up until the age of 30, I spent a good amount of time there.
Patrick deWitt
Time
Good
Home
Age
Negative
Young
Teenage
Teenage Years
Consider
Spend
Valley
Spent
All-Around
Pretty
Angeles
Proper
Through
Adulthood
Until
Around
Los
Los Angeles
Years
Ultimately
Up
Did
Anymore
Formative
Amount
Humorous writing is often thought of as substandard in comparison to work with a more dramatic or tragic intent. I don't know what to say to this except that I disagree wholeheartedly.
Patrick deWitt
Work
Writing
Disagree
Thought
Dramatic
Humorous
Say
More
Except
Know
Tragic
Often
Intent
Wholeheartedly
Comparison
I wouldn't want to write a biography of anyone. I'd feel too inhibited by the facts and too much pressure to do the subject's life justice.
Patrick deWitt
Life
Justice
Too Much
Pressure
Too
Write
Facts
Feel
Subject
Want
Anyone
Much
Inhibited
Biography
Unfunny people should be locked up, the key tossed into a smelter.
Patrick deWitt
People
Key
Locked
Locked Up
Tossed
Up
Should
The initial spark, your affection for the characters, all those things can disappear. It's a perilous thing.
Patrick deWitt
Affection
Those
Characters
Disappear
Perilous
Spark
Your
Initial
Thing
Things
The reason I like Portland is the idea of going to a supermarket and knowing there's no way to be recognized. L.A. is so social.
Patrick deWitt
Way
Recognized
Supermarket
Idea
Like
Knowing
Going
Social
Reason
Portland
I've always felt so fortunate to have writing to turn to every day. I'm obsessed with it.
Patrick deWitt
Day
Every Day
Writing
Every
Obsessed
Felt
Always
Turn
Fortunate
'The Sisters Brothers' started out as a little bit of dialogue between these two men who became Eli and Charlie Sisters.
Patrick deWitt
Men
Bit
Out
Charlie
Brothers
Between
Became
Dialogue
Sisters
Little
Little Bit
Who
Started
Two
I heard somewhere that whenever you write a book, people will ask you One Question about it over and over. And while I'm no expert in these matters, this is proving to be true. My first book dealt with a not-that-pleasant degenerate type, and the One Question was, 'Is this an autobiographical story?'
Patrick deWitt
You
Book
People
Will
Be True
Somewhere
First
Matters
Type
Degenerate
About
Write
True
Over
Dealt
Heard
Question
Proving
Autobiographical
Whenever
Expert
Story
While
Ask
I kept trying to write these books that were sort of outside of my realm, and I kept failing.
Patrick deWitt
Books
Write
Outside
Failing
Sort
Were
Trying
Realm
Kept
I'm never doing anything by rote. I'm only on thin ice, and I think that that's a good place to be. I feel like when you push yourself like that, the rewards can be pretty great.
Patrick deWitt
Good
Great
You
Yourself
Think
Good Place
Pretty
Only
Push
Never
Feel
Like
Doing
Rewards
Anything
Place
Ice
Rote
Thin
Every industry has slack times, and everyone has bad days at work.
Patrick deWitt
Work
Every
Everyone
Bad
Bad Days
Days
Industry
Times
Slack
I've been surprised at how much an unknown like myself can accomplish just by reaching out to people and pleading my case. Quotes for the book cover, reviews and interviews, readings and radio appearances - all this by simply moving ahead and making contact with folks I thought might enjoy the writing.
Patrick deWitt
Myself
Book
People
Writing
Thought
Enjoy
Unknown
Pleading
Interviews
Out
Folks
Case
Simply
Contact
Like
Reaching
Readings
How
Making
How Much
Cover
Surprised
Been
Accomplish
Reviews
Just
Quotes
Moving
Might
Much
Radio
Appearances
Looking around, I saw so many unhappy adults, people who loathed their jobs, and I didn't want to be one of them.
Patrick deWitt
People
Unhappy
Looking
Saw
Jobs
Adult
Around
Want
Them
Who
Many
I don't know that happy people are interesting to write about - or to read about.
Patrick deWitt
Happy
People
About
Write
Know
Read
Interesting
Happy People
The hardest thing in the world for a writer is to amass a readership. So many good books come out, and so many good books disappear.
Patrick deWitt
Good
World
Books
Out
Writer
Disappear
Come
Readership
The Hardest Thing
Many
Hardest
Hardest Thing
Thing
The question about my Canadianness comes up a lot, and I'm never quite sure what to say about it. I've carved a life out for myself in Oregon, and it feels like home, not because it's the States but because that's where my friends are and where my son is.
Patrick deWitt
Life
Myself
Home
Son
Say
States
Out
Carved
About
Never
Feels
Like
Sure
Because
Question
Lot
Up
Friends
Quite
Where
Oregon
I was intentionally curbing the impulse to be funny and hiding the ability. I wrote any number of very serious attempts at poems, short stories, novels - horrible. At a certain point, I recognized that it was fun to write dialogue that had a degree of lightness and humor.
Patrick deWitt
Funny
Humor
Degree
Hiding
Recognized
Ability
Horrible
Poems
Point
Write
Had
Attempts
Lightness
Wrote
Dialogue
Very
Any
Impulse
Short
Intentionally
Stories
Short Stories
Certain
Certain Point
Fun
Serious
Novels
Number
If you're not riddled with doubt, you've probably done something wrong.
Patrick deWitt
You
Doubt
Something
Wrong
Done
Riddled
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