19 Thomas McGuane Quotes for You to Enjoy

Thomas McGuane

American Author

Born: Dec 11, 1939

About Life People Think Time You

Related authors: F. Scott Fitzgerald Frederick Douglass Helen Keller Henry David Thoreau Joyce Meyer Mark Twain Og Mandino Zig Ziglar

One of the illusions that we live by is that we can really know anybody else, and we're often surprised by traits in people that we thought we knew very well. The struggle to overcome loneliness, which is sort of our universal burden, leads us to leap to conclusions about who other people are. Thomas McGuane

Loneliness Struggle People Overcome Burden Thought Live Other Else Our About Knew Leads Know Leap Well Sort Conclusions Surprised Very Traits Often Anybody Anybody Else Which Us Really Who Illusions Universal

Summertime in Montana, I become a monosyllabic baboon. I want to ride with the cowboys, go to brandings, doctor cattle, and train my horses. But in a few months, the snow starts to fly. The days become shorter; the yellow color of interior light becomes delicious. I look at my shelves, and every book just glows, and I want to be inside of that. Thomas McGuane

Book Doctor Interior Ride Light Fly Become Few Every Starts Montana Summertime Months Inside Delicious Color Horses Days Look Becomes Cattle Shelves Go Yellow Cowboys Train Snow Just Want

Marriage is anti-romantic - husband and wife are terms like 'turkey' and 'goose.' Worse, they denote ownership. Thomas McGuane

Marriage Husband And Wife Wife Husband Ownership Worse Like Terms Goose Turkey

My twenties were entirely taken up with literature. Entirely. Thomas McGuane

Entirely Taken Were Up Literature Twenties

People don't understand how much influence they can actually have on a writer, how much a writer's feelings can be hurt, how much they can deflect his course when they raise their voices like they did over highly personal books like 'Panama' or 'Bullet Park.' Thomas McGuane

Hurt People Feelings Books Deflect Park Voices Writer Highly Over Like Course Understand How How Much Bullet His Did Personal Influence Much Actually Raise Panama

I'm certainly afraid of not being able to write for some reason. I guess I've had spells of not necessarily writer's block, but something like that. I find that pretty terrifying. Thomas McGuane

Guess Spells Find Able Some Pretty Something Write Writer Had Like Terrifying Block Afraid Being Certainly Reason Necessarily

It took me a long time to know enough about writing to really write short stories. You can't just immerse yourself, as you do in a novel, and see where everything goes. Novels are a very flexible, accommodating form. Short stories aren't. Thomas McGuane

Time Me You Yourself Writing Long Long Time Enough Took Everything Immerse See About Write Know Very Goes Short Just Where Form Stories Short Stories Really Flexible Novel Novels

Probably, subliminally, I think of the reader as a kind of collaborator. I don't want to say something for the reader that the reader could have said for himself. Thomas McGuane

Think Collaborator Say Kind Something Could Himself Reader Said Want

I strongly believe that literature can do something that nothing else can do, and that is embody the human spirit. Thomas McGuane

Nothing Believe Else Embody Spirit Strongly Something Human Literature Human Spirit

I had a spell no more striking than other people of my job description. I did all the things you weren't supposed to do. I had a motto: When in doubt, try it. I went out and committed experience. Thomas McGuane

I think there's only one interesting story... and that's struggle. Thomas McGuane

Struggle Think Only Story Interesting

I think when I first started out, I had a kind of an exuberance about language, comedy, narrative leaps that... stopped just short of non sequiturs. And I'm much more cautious now. Thomas McGuane

Comedy Language First Think Exuberance Out Kind About More Had Leaps Narrative Cautious Short Just Stopped Much Now Started

I'm a really a fanatical reviser, and there comes a point where I have to declare a truce with the text, or I'll keep fooling with it forever. Thomas McGuane

Point Fooling Truce Text Forever Where Fanatical Declare Really Keep

You reach a point at which you have to view your life through the things you've spent so much time doing. The alternative is a perilous feeling of waste. Thomas McGuane

Life Time You Feeling Spent Point Through Reach Perilous Alternative Doing So Much Time Which Much View Your Waste Things

Not long ago, in response to a spell of insomnia, I learned some of the principles of meditation, to empty my mind piece by piece. It was like the old game of jacks - cautiously lifting each jack clear of its neighbor until only the empty background remained. Thomas McGuane

Game Old Mind Long Meditation Spell Background Neighbor Response Some Only Insomnia Remained Lifting Clear Like Piece Until Learned Principles Empty Jack Each

I'm a great reviser. I do these reckless drafts just to get the lay of the land. Thomas McGuane

Great Reckless Lay Get Just Land Drafts

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