633 Reader Quotes for You to Enjoy

Rather than a teaching tool, I think a novel is more of a witnessing entity. A witnessing entity? What is that? I just want the reader to step in and experience it as a story. Lorrie Moore

Experience Think Tool Rather More Entity Step Reader Witnessing Than Just Want Story Teaching Novel

Ordering is difficult. It's like arranging pieces of music in a concert: What do you put first? What do you put after the intermission? I want the reader to be sort of surprised, to come to each story freshly. Lydia Davis

Music You First Difficult Put Come Like Pieces Concert Reader Sort Arranging Surprised Want Ordering After Story Intermission Each

Short-story writing requires an exquisite sense of balance. Novelists, frankly, can get away with more. A novel can have a dull spot or two, because the reader has made a different commitment. Lynn Abbey

Balance Commitment Writing Made Sense Frankly More Reader Because Spot Dull Get Different Requires Novel Novelists Away Exquisite Two

English dramatic literature is, of course, dominated by Shakespeare; and it is almost inevitable that an English reader should measure the value of other poetic drama by the standards which Shakespeare has already implanted in his mind. Lytton Strachey

Mind Value Inevitable Other Drama Dramatic Shakespeare Poetic Almost Reader Course His Dominated Literature Which Should Measure Standards English

I was an avid reader, but never thought seriously about writing a novel until I was in my thirties. I took no formal fiction-writing courses and never thought about these categories when I wrote my first novel. M. J. Rose

Writing Seriously Thought First Thirties Took About Never Categories Until Wrote Reader Courses Formal Avid Novel

I was always an avid reader of books. My vocabulary, my English are all thanks to that reading habit. Reading keeps me grounded. I came from a very middle class family - poor, in fact. Madhur Bhandarkar

Whether labeled as such or not, I think every book I've ever written has been, more or less, a romantic suspense. I have always put tremendous effort into making each book a page turner: The harder it is for the reader to put it down, the better I've done my job. Maggie Shayne

Book Better Job Down Every Think Tremendous Has-Been More More Or Less Written Put Reader Always Making Been Labeled Effort Done Suspense Romantic Whether Turner Page Less Each Ever Harder

I can tell you that as a writer and as a reader, I regard character as king. Or queen. No matter how riveting the action or interesting the plot twists, if I don't feel like I'm meeting someone who feels real, I'm not going to be compelled to read further. Maggie Stiefvater

Character You Queen Matter King Action Meeting Further Plot Tell Someone Writer Feel Feels Like Read Reader How Real Going Regard Interesting Who Compelled Twists

I focus on the elements of a movie that are meant to invisibly affect me as a viewer. The edges. As an author, I'm aware of how the subconscious things can pluck at a reader's emotions, and I love it when filmmakers do the same. Maggie Stiefvater

Love Me Emotions Focus Subconscious Pluck Edges Reader How Affect Author Same Movie Meant Viewer Elements Aware Things Filmmakers

I'm not a great reader of historical fiction; it's not my favourite genre. Mal Peet

Great Favourite Genre Reader Historical Historical Fiction Fiction

If my books appear to a reader to be oversimplified, then you shouldn't read them: You're not the audience! Malcolm Gladwell

You Books Read Reader Audience Them Then Appear

If I pick up a book with spaceships on the cover, I want spaceships. If I see one with dragons, I want there to be dragons inside the book. Proper labeling. Ethical labeling. I don't want to open up my cornflakes and find that they're full of pebbles... You need to respect the reader enough not to call it something it isn't. Margaret Atwood

I know that some books and some writers, you can pretty much draw a square around it and say, 'Nobody under 40,' or 'Nobody under 25.' With my books, it always has been, and continues to be, spread right across the board, and I think the operative term is 'reader.' Margaret Atwood

I'm a voracious reader. I want information, all kinds - Internet, books, magazines. Marilyn Minter

Internet Books Kinds Magazines Voracious Reader Want Information

When I was young, I was a passionate reader of Sartre. I've read the American novelists, in particular the lost generation - Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos - especially Faulkner. Of the authors I read when I was young, he is one of the few who still means a lot to me. Mario Vargas Llosa

I can't control what a reader takes from a story. Marjorie Liu

Control Takes Reader Story

There are a number of writers who believe it is their duty to throw as many curve balls at the reader as possible. To twist and twist again. These are the Chubby Checkers of crime fiction and, while I admire the craft, I think that it can actually work against genuine suspense. Mark Billingham

Work Crime Duty Believe Think Crime Fiction Chubby Possible Admire Throw Writers Checkers Reader Genuine Balls Craft Suspense Fiction Curve While Again Against Who Many Actually Twist Number

As a writer, you're making a pact with the reader; you're saying, 'Look, I know and you know that if this book was really a murder investigation, it would be a thousand pages long and would be very dull, and you would be very unhappy with the ending.' Mark Billingham

Whether you do stand-up comedy or write a story, you have a duty to deliver. As a comedian, you walk out on stage, and you have a minute to hook them, or they'll start booing. As a writer, it's very similar. A reader doesn't have time to say, 'I'll give him 50 pages, as it's not very good yet, but I hope it'll get better.' Mark Billingham

Hope Time Good You Better Comedy Walk Duty Stage Booing Say Hook Out Minute Give Similar Write Writer Deliver Comedian Him Reader Very Get Story Whether Them Pages Stand-Up Comedy Start

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