9375 quotes by novelists for you to enjoy

The more research you do, the more at ease you are in the world you're writing about. It doesn't encumber you, it makes you free. A. S. Byatt

You Writing World Free Research Ease About More Makes

I think my characters with my fingers, I think my characters with my guts. But when I say I think them, that is what I do, I feel them with the sympathetic neurons and I work out with my brain what it is that I am trying to write about, or I can't do it. A. S. Byatt

Work Think Say Out Characters About Guts Fingers Neurons Write Feel Am Brain Trying Them Work Out Sympathetic

I'm quite interested in my own mental processes, simply because I'm a failed scientist, and because I'm interested in how the brain and the mind works, and I like to avoid easy descriptions. A. S. Byatt

Mind Own Easy Mental My Own Mental Processes Simply Failed Like Because How Scientist Brain Quite Processes Interested Avoid Works Descriptions

I like feeling my way into different minds and experiences. It comes naturally and always has. A. S. Byatt

Feeling Minds Way Like Always Different Experiences Naturally

I sort of mind living in a time when most of the literature is terribly personal. I suppose it's because I grew up on a love of history, philosophy, science and religion, but not to think too much about yourself. A. S. Byatt

Love Time Religion History Science Yourself Mind Too Much Living Think Too Philosophy About Suppose Most Terribly Sort Because Up Personal Grew Literature Much

You learn different things through fiction. Historians are always making a plot about how certain things came to happen. Whereas a novelist looks at tiny little things and builds up a sort of map, like a painting, so that you see the shapes of things. A. S. Byatt

You Little Things Painting Plot See About Through Shapes Like Looks Learn Sort Always Builds How Making Came Historians Up Tiny Different Fiction Whereas Happen Little Certain Certain Things Map Novelist Different Things Things

I hated being a novelist when I was 20 - I had nothing to write about. A. S. Byatt

Nothing Hated About Write Had Being Novelist

America is full of readers of all different sorts who love books in many different ways, and I keep meeting them. And I think editors should look after them, and make less effort to please people who don't actually like books. A. S. Byatt

Love People Think Meeting Please Books Ways Like Look Make Sort Readers Editors Effort America Different After Them Should Full Less Who Many Keep Different Ways Actually

Why do we take pleasure in gruesome death, neatly packaged as a puzzle to which we may find a satisfactory solution through clues - or if we are not clever enough, have it revealed by the all-powerful tale-teller at the end of the book? It is something to do with being reduced to, and comforted by, playing by the rules. A. S. Byatt

Death Book Clever Enough Pleasure Rules Solution Find All-Powerful Something Through Take Puzzle Comforted Revealed Reduced End May Being Which Packaged Clues Satisfactory Why Neatly Gruesome Playing

I have never been able to read Agatha Christie - the pleasure is purely in the puzzle, and the reader is toyed with by someone who didn't decide herself who the killer was until the end of the writing. A. S. Byatt

Writing Herself Pleasure Killer Able Purely Someone Never Puzzle Until Toyed Read Reader Been End Decide Agatha Christie Who

Lawyers are the first refuge of the incompetent. Aaron Allston

Legal First Lawyers Refuge Incompetent

The way to a man's heart is through his chest. Aaron Allston

Man Heart Way Through Chest His

If you hack the Vatican server, have you tampered in God's domain? Aaron Allston

God You Vatican Hack Tampered Domain Server

I'm content to stand on tradition. I'm even more content to wipe my feet on it. Aaron Allston

More Wipe Feet Content Tradition Stand Even

No one pays me to be nice. Aaron Allston

Me Be Nice Nice No-One Pays

The difference between tragedy and comedy: Tragedy is something awful happening to somebody else, while comedy is something awful happening to somebody else. Aaron Allston

Comedy Somebody Else Something Between Tragedy Difference Happening While Awful

This would not be a problem if I were driving a snowplow. Aaron Allston

Problem Would Driving Were

Every villain needs her story told. Abbi Glines

Needs Every Story Villain Her

Football games on Friday nights followed by field parties every weekend was how I spent my high school years. Abbi Glines

School Field Every Nights Spent High Followed High School Weekend Football Football Games School Years Parties How Years Friday Games

'Fallen Too Far' was my first NYT bestseller. That changed my life. Abbi Glines

Life My Life First Too Changed Bestseller Fallen Far

Our house has a library - it seemed better use of the space than as a dining room! - and I try to spend as much time in there as possible. There's nothing better while reading or writing than to be surrounded by books. Adam Christopher

Historically, diversity has been a real issue for superhero comics - so we need to do something about it, crafting strong, modern heroes for a modern audience. Adam Christopher

Strong Heroes Diversity Has-Been Superhero About Something Audience Real Comics Issue Been Real Issue Historically Crafting Modern Need

Even as I was writing 'Empire State,' I knew there were more adventures for the main character, private detective Rad Bradley, to have. I also knew that the world was far larger than what I'd presented in book one. Adam Christopher

My own writing has perhaps more of an American flavor than a British one, but that's because the stories I've so far written have needed it. 'Empire State,' 'Seven Wonders' and 'The Age Atomic' are all very place-centric, where the setting itself is almost a character. But there is a universality to story that isn't just limited to science fiction. Adam Christopher

Character Science Age Writing Own Setting State Seven Atomic My Own More Written Almost Empire Empire State Perhaps Because Science Fiction Limited Itself Very Than American Wonders Just Where Fiction Stories Story Flavor Far Universality British Needed

Quotes by Novelists