Quotes by Novelist | Beyond Motive 19/277

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Quotes by Novelist

"A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention."

"A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention."

Aldous Huxley, English Novelist

Development, Habit, Chance, Man

6

"It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived."

"It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived."

Harper Lee, American Novelist

Family, Father, Thought, Man

6

"But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated."

"But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated."

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

6

"Bath twice a day to be really clean, once a day to be passably clean, once a week to avoid being a public menace."

"Bath twice a day to be really clean, once a day to be passably clean, once a week to avoid being a public menace."

Anthony Burgess, English Novelist

Being, Day, Public

6

"In science, read, by preference, the newest works; in literature, the oldest. The classic literature is always modern."

"In science, read, by preference, the newest works; in literature, the oldest. The classic literature is always modern."

Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton, British Novelist

Science, Literature

6

"Me and Vinny are dead careful, and we only had sex once without a condom, our first time, and it's a scientific fact that virgins can't get pregnant. Stella told me."

"Me and Vinny are dead careful, and we only had sex once without a condom, our first time, and it's a scientific fact that virgins can't get pregnant. Stella told me."

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Awareness, Myth, Sex, Pregnancy, Ignorance

6

"Teachers're always using that "in your own words." I hate that. Authors knit their sentences tight. It's their job. Why make us unpick them, just to put it back together more shonkily? How're you s'posed to say Kapellmeister if you can't say Kapellmeister?"

"Teachers're always using that "in your own words." I hate that. Authors knit their sentences tight. It's their job. Why make us unpick them, just to put it back together more shonkily? How're you s'posed to say Kapellmeister if you can't say Kapellmeister?"

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Language, Writing, Word, Education

6

"And when demigods use cell phones, the signals agitate every monster within a hundred miles. It's like sending up a flare: Here I am! Please rearrange my face!"

"And when demigods use cell phones, the signals agitate every monster within a hundred miles. It's like sending up a flare: Here I am! Please rearrange my face!"

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Danger, Truth, Power, Regret

6

"Jealousy is love bed of burning snarl."

"Jealousy is love bed of burning snarl."

George Meredith, English Novelist

Love, Bed, Jealousy

6

"Having reached the halfway mark in the alphabet, my prime focus is on writing each new book as well as I can."

"Having reached the halfway mark in the alphabet, my prime focus is on writing each new book as well as I can."

Sue Grafton, American Novelist

6

"Delay always breeds danger; and to protract a great design is often to ruin it."

"Delay always breeds danger; and to protract a great design is often to ruin it."

Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish Novelist

Design, Danger, Delay, Ruin

6

"A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out what a novel is about, and the job becomes one of understanding and deepening or sharpening what is already written. That is finding the theme."

"A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out what a novel is about, and the job becomes one of understanding and deepening or sharpening what is already written. That is finding the theme."

Diane Johnson, American Novelist

Writing, End, Job, Understanding, Writer

6

"Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are."

"Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French Novelist

6

"You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea."

"You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea."

Pearl S. Buck, American Novelist

Age, Idea, Pain

6

"A chaplain's biggest gift is to be present and just listen."

"A chaplain's biggest gift is to be present and just listen."

Diane Johnson, American Novelist

6

"After I convinced them that I was a harmless novelist, I actually got them to give me a tour of the harem - which is usually off limits for tourists."

"After I convinced them that I was a harmless novelist, I actually got them to give me a tour of the harem - which is usually off limits for tourists."

Dorothy Dunnett, Scottish Novelist

Personal, Limits, Tourists

6

"Hosni Mubarak... his constitution is not democratic, but he is democratic. We can voice our opinions now. The press is free."

"Hosni Mubarak... his constitution is not democratic, but he is democratic. We can voice our opinions now. The press is free."

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Novelist

Constitution, Now, Opinions, Press

6

"Lunch makes me feel a bit better."

"Lunch makes me feel a bit better."

Suzanne Collins, American Novelist

Comfort, Routine, Mood, Food

6

"Illusion is an anodyne, bred by the gap between wish and reality."

"Illusion is an anodyne, bred by the gap between wish and reality."

Herman Wouk, American Novelist

Illusion, Reality

6

"Probably in a parallel universe not far from here, I'm working for Nintendo."

"Probably in a parallel universe not far from here, I'm working for Nintendo."

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Fantasy, Imagination, Humor, Parallel, Dream

6

"I will walk without noise and I will open the door in darkness and I will."

"I will walk without noise and I will open the door in darkness and I will."

Jonathan Safran Foer, American Novelist

Life, Silence, Action, Mystery

6

"The magic was boiling her blood. The darkness-it would be a relief compared to the hell smoldering in her veins. The Valg prince advanced, and part of her was screaming-screaming at herself to get up, to keep fighting, to rage and roar against this horrible end. But moving her limbs, even breathing, had become a monumental effort.She was so tired."

"The magic was boiling her blood. The darkness-it would be a relief compared to the hell smoldering in her veins. The Valg prince advanced, and part of her was screaming-screaming at herself to get up, to keep fighting, to rage and roar against this horrible end. But moving her limbs, even breathing, had become a monumental effort.She was so tired."

Sarah J. Maas, American Novelist

Struggle, Magic, Darkness, Strength, Effort

6

"The better organized the state, the duller its humanity."

"The better organized the state, the duller its humanity."

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Politics, Organization, State, Humanity, Power

6

"The true feeling of sex is that of a deep intimacy, but above all of a deep complicity."

"The true feeling of sex is that of a deep intimacy, but above all of a deep complicity."

James Dickey, American Novelist

Sex, Deep, Feeling, Intimacy

6

"No more fear of hunger. A new kind of freedom. But what then ... what? What would my life be like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I'm not really sure who I am, what my identity is. The idea scares me some."

"No more fear of hunger. A new kind of freedom. But what then ... what? What would my life be like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I'm not really sure who I am, what my identity is. The idea scares me some."

Suzanne Collins, American Novelist

Change, Fear, Freedom, Identity, Life

6

"The Koran and the laws of all civilized nations legislate against the vilification of religions."

"The Koran and the laws of all civilized nations legislate against the vilification of religions."

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Novelist

Tolerance, Koran, Laws, Nations

6

"You can't do without philosophy, since everything has its hidden meaning which we must know."

"You can't do without philosophy, since everything has its hidden meaning which we must know."

Maxim Gorky, Russian Novelist

Meaning, Philosophy

6

"To listen to what I'd heard - as if I'd already learned everything I needed."

"To listen to what I'd heard - as if I'd already learned everything I needed."

Sarah J. Maas, American Novelist

Listening, Learning, Knowledge, Experience

6

"Words are what you fight with but what you fight about is whether or not you're afraid of them."

"Words are what you fight with but what you fight about is whether or not you're afraid of them."

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Communication, Word, Fight, Fear

6

"You don't destroy what you want toacquire in the future."

"You don't destroy what you want toacquire in the future."

Suzanne Collins, American Novelist

Strategy, Desire, Future, Destruction, Control

6

"It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen."

"It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen."

George MacDonald, Scottish Novelist

Nature, Men, Politics, Want

6

"Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in."

"Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in."

Gustave Flaubert, French Novelist

Failure, Idiots, Nothing, Succeed

6

"The man of science is nothing if not a poet gone wrong."

"The man of science is nothing if not a poet gone wrong."

George Meredith, English Novelist

Science, Man, Nothing, Wrong

6

"The difficulty in life is the choice."

"The difficulty in life is the choice."

George A. Moore, Irish Novelist

Life, Choice, Difficulty

6

"All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time."

"All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time."

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

Life, Time, First, Words

6

"I hate the word lesbian; it tells you nothing; its only purpose is to inflame."

"I hate the word lesbian; it tells you nothing; its only purpose is to inflame."

Jeanette Winterson, British Novelist

Purpose, Hate, Lesbian, Nothing

6

"Learning is finding out what you already know."

"Learning is finding out what you already know."

Richard Bach, American Novelist

6

"Any artist should be grateful for a naive grace which puts him beyond the need to reason elaborately."

"Any artist should be grateful for a naive grace which puts him beyond the need to reason elaborately."

Saul Bellow, American Novelist

Naivety, Artist, Grace, Reason

6

"You can't just abandon your family because they did something horrible. You've done horrible things to them too."

"You can't just abandon your family because they did something horrible. You've done horrible things to them too."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Family, Truth, Regret, Wisdom

6

"It can't be that life is so senseless and horrible. But if it really has been so horrible and senseless, why must I die and die in agony? There is something wrong!"

"It can't be that life is so senseless and horrible. But if it really has been so horrible and senseless, why must I die and die in agony? There is something wrong!"

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

Existentialism, Life, Meaning, Pain, Death

6

"An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life - becoming a better person."

"An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life - becoming a better person."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

Character, Arrogance, Humility, Self, Improvement

6

"She let out a laugh, and then she put her hand over her mouth, like she was angry at herself for forgetting her sadness."

"She let out a laugh, and then she put her hand over her mouth, like she was angry at herself for forgetting her sadness."

Jonathan Safran Foer, American Novelist

Life, Laughter, Love, Emotion, Sadness

6

"Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see."

"Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see."

John Gardner, American Novelist

Dream, Dreams, Talking, Words

6

"I think the crucial thing in the writing career is to find what you want to do and how you fit in. What somebody else does is of no concern whatever except as an interesting variation."

"I think the crucial thing in the writing career is to find what you want to do and how you fit in. What somebody else does is of no concern whatever except as an interesting variation."

James A. Michener, American Novelist

Career, Concern, Want, Writing

6

"It is the ability to choose which makes us human."

"It is the ability to choose which makes us human."

Madeleine L'Engle, American Novelist

6

"I expect Woman will be the last thing civilized by Man."

"I expect Woman will be the last thing civilized by Man."

George Meredith, English Novelist

Man, Will, Woman

6

"Writing Part of the Scenery has been a very different experience. I have been reminded of people and events, real and imaginary which have been part of my life. This book is a celebration of the land which means so much to me."

"Writing Part of the Scenery has been a very different experience. I have been reminded of people and events, real and imaginary which have been part of my life. This book is a celebration of the land which means so much to me."

Mary Wesley, British Novelist

Life, Experience, People, Events

6

"When I write, I enjoy myself so much that what is being written really needs no reader."

"When I write, I enjoy myself so much that what is being written really needs no reader."

Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban Novelist

6

"And I wonder how Gage knew this is what my soul has craved. He turns me to face him, his eyes searching. It occurs to me that no one in my life has ever concerned himself so thoroughly with my happiness."

"And I wonder how Gage knew this is what my soul has craved. He turns me to face him, his eyes searching. It occurs to me that no one in my life has ever concerned himself so thoroughly with my happiness."

Lisa Kleypas, American Novelist

Romance, Love, Care, Happiness, Emotion

6

"We are all geniuses up to the age of ten."

"We are all geniuses up to the age of ten."

Aldous Huxley, English Novelist

6

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