19487 quotes by writers for you to enjoy

The Narrator of 'A Sport and a Pastime' is an American photographer living in a borrowed house in what he calls 'the real France,' Autun, a small town where he hopes to take some career-changing photographs in the spirit of Atget. Alexander Chee

I'm not much of a Rick Moody fan, but I want to be a fan for the Rick Moody I thought might appear after his first two novels, 'Garden State' (1992) and 'The Ice Storm' (1994). Alexander Chee

Garden Moody Thought First State His Want Fan After Storm Ice Might Much Rick Appear Novels Two

My literary heroes were mostly women writers and thinkers - Joy Williams, Joan Didion, Anne Sexton, June Jordan, Sarah Schulman, Audre Lorde, Cherrie Moraga, Christa Wolf - and much of this writing was political as well as literary. Alexander Chee

One of the things that's really important in 'Queen of the Night' is how people communicate with their clothes. Alexander Chee

People Queen Communicate Important Clothes One Of The Things How Really Things Night

I knew I wanted the parties in 'The Queen of the Night' to be convincing, beautiful, and also dramatic: situations where significant things happened on a scale that was both grand and intimate. There were several texts that helped me think about how to do this, and one of the most important ones was Charlotte Bronte's novel 'Villette.' Alexander Chee

Beautiful Me Queen Important Think Dramatic Intimate Several Scale Significant About Charlotte Both Knew Most Parties Also How Were Texts Situations The Most Important Where Wanted Happened Grand Convincing Helped Novel Things Night

When you're writing historical fiction, you have to think a little farther into the situation: what the average social interactions were, what was acceptable behavior. What did people think was fun, what did they find unhappy, and why? Alexander Chee

The qualities that make parties such a nightmare for people - and also so pleasurable - make them incredibly important inside of fiction. There's a chaos agent quality to them: You just don't know who's going to be there or why. You could run into an old enemy, an old friend, an old friend who's become an enemy. Alexander Chee

You Quality People Enemy Old Important Become Incredibly Chaos Pleasurable Run Inside Could Know Parties Also Qualities Make Friend Going Just Fiction Old Friend Them Agent Why Nightmare

Marie Cornelie Falcon, who lost her voice while performing - singing the line 'Je suis pret' - 'I am ready.' How much more tragic can you get? Alexander Chee

You Singing Lost More Voice Performing Ready How Am How Much Falcon Line Tragic Get While Much Who Her Marie

I loved being a soprano. It was one of my very favorite things in life, and thus far, and losing that voice was a profound emotional moment for me in my life. I never became that interested in my adult male singing voice. Alexander Chee

Life Me Losing My Life Singing Favorite Favorite Things Voice Emotional Adult Never Thus Soprano Singing Voice Became Male Very Being Loved Interested Far Moment Things Profound

In some ways, in 'The Queen of the Night,' I'm writing about some of the experience that I had with 'Edinburgh' where I was entirely unable to speak about what had happened to me as a child, but I could read from the novel. Alexander Chee

Me Experience Writing Queen Speak Ways Unable Some About Entirely Could Had Read Edinburgh Child Where Happened Novel Night

Historical fiction was not - and is not - meant to supplant literature from the period it describes. As a veteran of the Crimea, Tolstoy wrote 'War and Peace' to match his own internal sense of the truth of the Napoleonic wars, to dramatize what he felt literature from that period had failed to describe. Alexander Chee

Truth War Peace Veteran Own Sense Had He Failed Period Wrote Felt Match His Historical Historical Fiction Fiction Literature Meant Internal Wars Describe Tolstoy

In the summer of 1866, as Leo Tolstoy prepared for his serialized novel 'War and Peace' to be published as a single volume, he wrote to illustrator Mikhail Bashilov, hoping to commission drawings for the new edition of the novel, which he referred to by its original title,1805. Alexander Chee

In 2009, the 'New York Times' ran an analysis on the cost of being a LGBT couple trying to live as a married couple but without the same protections. Over a lifetime, they estimated a couple would spend as much as $467,562 more, and as little as $41,196, with costs running lower the higher your income. Alexander Chee

Live Analysis Ran Spend Married Married Couple Would Running Cost More Costs Higher Lifetime Over New Couple Without Times Trying York Same New York Being New York Times Estimated Little Much Lower Your Income

Rounding to the nearest cent is sufficiently accurate for practical purposes. Alexander John Ellis

Finance Purposes Practical Accurate Cent Rounding Nearest Sufficiently

Cents are the most universally used interval measure. Alexander John Ellis

Interval Most Cents Used Measure Universally

Oh I love gadgets and I pride myself on keeping at the cutting edge of technology. Alexander McCall Smith

Love Myself Technology Gadgets Pride Edge Oh Cutting Cutting Edge Keeping

The wider your readership, the greater the chances of offending your readers. Alexander McCall Smith

Readers Readership Greater Offending Your Wider Chances

Well, I'd say all of us are a combination of moods and emotions. In my day to day life I don't go around skipping, but at times one can feel sheer exhilarating joy at the world. Alexander McCall Smith

Life Day Emotions Joy World Say Moods Day-To-Day Feel Combination Well Sheer Around Go Exhilarating Times Us Skipping

That my philosophy of life is, as far as possible, one of enjoyment. I'm not nihilistic. Alexander McCall Smith

Life Philosophy Possible As Far As Far Enjoyment

Any author of fiction will tell you that characters don't need to be told what to do. Alexander McCall Smith

You Will Tell Characters Author Any Fiction Need

Serial novels have an unexpected effect; they hook the writer as well as the reader. Alexander McCall Smith

Hook Writer Well Reader Effect Unexpected Serial Novels

But you cannot expect every writer to dwell on human suffering. I think my books do deal with grave issues. People who say they are too positive probably haven't read them. Alexander McCall Smith

Every novel presents a slice of life. A noir policier for example presents one slice, one that perhaps addresses social dysfunction or some sort of pathology, while mine present a slice that is more upbeat and affirmative. Alexander McCall Smith

I think people in Botswana are pleased that my books paint a positive picture of their lives and portray the country as being very special. They've made a great success of their country, and the people are fed up with the constant reporting of only the problems and poverty of the continent. They welcome something which puts the positive side. Alexander McCall Smith

Positive Success Great Welcome People Problems Made Poverty Picture Country Think Side Books Pleased Constant Something Only Fed Fed Up Puts Great Success Continent Up Very Reporting Being Which Special Paint Lives Portray

I'm interested in character and dialogue and exchange of ideas. Alexander McCall Smith

Character Exchange Ideas Dialogue Interested

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