Quotes by Novelist | Beyond Motive 38/280

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Quotes by Novelist

"Someone who wants to write should make an effort to write a little something every day. Writing in this sense is the same as athletes who practice a sport every day to keep their skills honed."

"Someone who wants to write should make an effort to write a little something every day. Writing in this sense is the same as athletes who practice a sport every day to keep their skills honed."

Anita Desai, Indian Novelist

Athletes, Day, Effort, Practice

5

"I've seen you, beauty, and you belong to me now, whoever you are waiting for and if I never see you again, I thought. You belong to me and all Paris belongs to me and I belong to this notebook and this pencil."

"I've seen you, beauty, and you belong to me now, whoever you are waiting for and if I never see you again, I thought. You belong to me and all Paris belongs to me and I belong to this notebook and this pencil."

Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist

Love, Possession, Beauty, Art

5

"Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form."

"Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form."

Toni Morrison, American Novelist

Attitude, Art, Literature, Tolerance

5

"I see the player piano as the grandfather of the computer, the ancestor of the entire nightmare we live in, the birth of the binary world where there is no option other than yes or no and where there is no refuge."

"I see the player piano as the grandfather of the computer, the ancestor of the entire nightmare we live in, the birth of the binary world where there is no option other than yes or no and where there is no refuge."

William Gaddis, American Novelist

Computer, World

5

"We have to show these men and women freedom by enslaving them, and show them courage by frightening them."

"We have to show these men and women freedom by enslaving them, and show them courage by frightening them."

Chuck Palahniuk, American Novelist

Freedom, Courage, Fear, Control

5

"The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them."

"The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French Novelist

Attitude, Lies, Meaning

5

"People who lose their parents when young are permanently in love with them."

"People who lose their parents when young are permanently in love with them."

Aharon Appelfeld, Israeli Novelist

Love, People, Parents

5

"The theater needs continual reminders that there is nothing more debasing than the work of those who do well what is not worth doing at all."

"The theater needs continual reminders that there is nothing more debasing than the work of those who do well what is not worth doing at all."

Gore Vidal, American Novelist

Work, Needs, Nothing, Theater

5

"The sadness of the incomplete, the sadness that is often Life, but should never be Art."

"The sadness of the incomplete, the sadness that is often Life, but should never be Art."

E. M. Forster, English Novelist

Life, Art, Sadness

5

"Maybe a mother wasn't what she seemed to be on the surface."

"Maybe a mother wasn't what she seemed to be on the surface."

Jodi Picoult, American Novelist

Complexity, Motherhood, Truth, Perception, Family

5

"Never did Christ utter a single word attesting to a personal resurrection and a life beyond the grave."

"Never did Christ utter a single word attesting to a personal resurrection and a life beyond the grave."

Leo Tolstoy, Russian Novelist

Religion, Faith, History, Belief

5

"The tuba is certainly the most intestinal of instruments, the very lower bowel of music."

"The tuba is certainly the most intestinal of instruments, the very lower bowel of music."

Peter De Vries, American Novelist

5

"I thought about one of my favorite Sufi poems, which says that God long ago drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. I was never not coming here. This was never not going to happen."

"I thought about one of my favorite Sufi poems, which says that God long ago drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. I was never not coming here. This was never not going to happen."

Elizabeth Gilbert, American Novelist

Fate, Destiny, God, Poetry

5

"A commission of haberdashers could alone have reported whatthe rest of her poor dress was made of, but it had a strong generalresemblance to seaweed, with here and there a gigantic tea-leaf.Her shawl looked particularly like a tea-leaf after long infusion."

"A commission of haberdashers could alone have reported whatthe rest of her poor dress was made of, but it had a strong generalresemblance to seaweed, with here and there a gigantic tea-leaf.Her shawl looked particularly like a tea-leaf after long infusion."

Charles Dickens, English Novelist

Art, Description, Imagery, Nature, Observation

5

"Where does discipline end? Where does cruelty begin? Somewhere between these, thousands of children inhabit a voiceless hell."

"Where does discipline end? Where does cruelty begin? Somewhere between these, thousands of children inhabit a voiceless hell."

Francois Mauriac, French Novelist

Discipline, Children, Cruelty, End

5

"Nonfiction that smells like fiction is neither."

"Nonfiction that smells like fiction is neither."

David Mitchell, British Novelist

Literature, Truth, Fiction, Reality, Perception

5

"Caricature is rough truth."

"Caricature is rough truth."

George Meredith, English Novelist

5

"Romance takes place in the middle distance. Romance is looking in at yourself through a window clouded with dew. Romance means leaving things out: where life grunts and shuffles, romance only sighs."

"Romance takes place in the middle distance. Romance is looking in at yourself through a window clouded with dew. Romance means leaving things out: where life grunts and shuffles, romance only sighs."

Margaret Atwood, Canadian Novelist

Romance, Reflection, Emotion, Beauty

5

"The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison."

"The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison."

Nathaniel Hawthorne, American Novelist

Happiness, Virtue, Prison, Project

5

"I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be."

"I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be."

Charles Dickens, English Novelist

Love, Hope, Reason, Peace

5

"We work to eat to get the strength to work to eat to get the strength to work to eat to get the strength to work to eat to get the strength to work."

"We work to eat to get the strength to work to eat to get the strength to work to eat to get the strength to work to eat to get the strength to work."

John Dos Passos, American Novelist

5

"In the struggle between yourself and the world, side with the world."

"In the struggle between yourself and the world, side with the world."

Jonathan Safran Foer, American Novelist

Philosophy, Struggle, Self, World, Conflict

5

"A writer of fiction lives in fear. Each new day demands new ideas and he can never be sure whether he is going to come up with them or not."

"A writer of fiction lives in fear. Each new day demands new ideas and he can never be sure whether he is going to come up with them or not."

Roald Dahl, British Novelist

Fear, Ideas, Day, Fiction

5

"We'll be remembered more for what we destroy than what we create."

"We'll be remembered more for what we destroy than what we create."

Chuck Palahniuk, American Novelist

Legacy, Creation, Destruction, Memory

5

"But memory is like plaster: peel it back and you just might find a completely different picture."

"But memory is like plaster: peel it back and you just might find a completely different picture."

Jodi Picoult, American Novelist

Psychology, Memory, Truth, Perception, Reality

5

"You seem to think you have a choice," Cam said. "But you have it backwards. Love chooses you. The shadow moves as the sun commands."

"You seem to think you have a choice," Cam said. "But you have it backwards. Love chooses you. The shadow moves as the sun commands."

Lisa Kleypas, American Novelist

Destiny, Love, Fate, Choice, Power

5

"What the mud had been doing with itself, or where it came from, who could say? But it seemed to collect in a moment, as a crowd will, and in five minutes to have splashed all the sons and daughters of Adam."

"What the mud had been doing with itself, or where it came from, who could say? But it seemed to collect in a moment, as a crowd will, and in five minutes to have splashed all the sons and daughters of Adam."

Charles Dickens, English Novelist

Chaos, Origin, Life, Truth, Nature

5

"There are so many things I can't believe. That people deserve what they get, both bad and good. That one day I'll live in a world where people are judged by what they do instead of who they are. That happy endings don't have contingencies and conditions."

"There are so many things I can't believe. That people deserve what they get, both bad and good. That one day I'll live in a world where people are judged by what they do instead of who they are. That happy endings don't have contingencies and conditions."

Jodi Picoult, American Novelist

Society, Justice, Hope, Truth, Equality

5

"My first time I jacked off, I thought I'd invented it. I looked down at my sloppy handful of junk and thought, This is going to make me rich."

"My first time I jacked off, I thought I'd invented it. I looked down at my sloppy handful of junk and thought, This is going to make me rich."

Chuck Palahniuk, American Novelist

Humor, Discovery, Innocence, Youth

5

"I have no concern for the common man except that he should not be so common."

"I have no concern for the common man except that he should not be so common."

Angus Wilson, British Novelist

5

"I like to see life with its teeth out."

"I like to see life with its teeth out."

Janet Frame, New Zealander Novelist

Life, Newzealander

5

"Maybe you had to come close to losing something before you could remember its value."

"Maybe you had to come close to losing something before you could remember its value."

Jodi Picoult, American Novelist

Realization, Values, Loss, Emotion

5

"When working, my diet degrades to pizza three times a day, because I don't want to distract myself from anything."

"When working, my diet degrades to pizza three times a day, because I don't want to distract myself from anything."

Chuck Palahniuk, American Novelist

Life, Work, Diet, Fatigue, Focus

5

"There wouldn't be half as much fun in the world if it weren't for children and men, and there ain't a mite of difference between them under the skins."

"There wouldn't be half as much fun in the world if it weren't for children and men, and there ain't a mite of difference between them under the skins."

Ellen Glasgow, American Novelist

Man, Men, Children, Difference, Fun

5

"Death's an old joke, but each individual encounters it anew."

"Death's an old joke, but each individual encounters it anew."

Ivan Turgenev, Russian Novelist

5

"I like summer. I like warmer weather and long days. I'm one of those silly people who still enjoy lying in the sun - my children are horrified!"

"I like summer. I like warmer weather and long days. I'm one of those silly people who still enjoy lying in the sun - my children are horrified!"

Danielle Steel, American Novelist

People, Children, Lying, Silly

5

"The main object of religion is not to get a man into heaven, but to get heaven into him."

"The main object of religion is not to get a man into heaven, but to get heaven into him."

Thomas Hardy, English Novelist

Religion, Heaven, Man

5

"The well-intentioned mothers who don't want their children polluted by fairy tales would not only deny them their childhood, with its high creativity, but they would have them conform to the secular world, with its dirty devices. The world of fairy tale, fantasy, myth, is inimical to the secular world, and in total opposition to it, for it is interested not in limited laboratory proofs but in truth."

"The well-intentioned mothers who don't want their children polluted by fairy tales would not only deny them their childhood, with its high creativity, but they would have them conform to the secular world, with its dirty devices. The world of fairy tale, fantasy, myth, is inimical to the secular world, and in total opposition to it, for it is interested not in limited laboratory proofs but in truth."

Madeleine L'Engle, American Novelist

Fantasy, Creativity, Children, Truth, World

5

"You only ask people about themselves so you can tell them about yourself."

"You only ask people about themselves so you can tell them about yourself."

Chuck Palahniuk, American Novelist

Psychology, Truth, Communication, Self, Introspection

5

"When it comes to memories, the good and the bad never balance."

"When it comes to memories, the good and the bad never balance."

Jodi Picoult, American Novelist

Memory, Emotion, Truth, Reflection

5

"I'm afraid that in nine cases out of ten Nature pulls one way and human nature another."

"I'm afraid that in nine cases out of ten Nature pulls one way and human nature another."

E. M. Forster, English Novelist

Philosophy, Nature, Humanity, Instinct, Conflict

5

""Very well." "Say it." "Say what?" "Say my name. Say, 'Very well, Dorian.' "She rolled her eyes. "If it pleases Your Magnanimous Holiness, I shall call you by your first name.""

""Very well." "Say it." "Say what?" "Say my name. Say, 'Very well, Dorian.' "She rolled her eyes. "If it pleases Your Magnanimous Holiness, I shall call you by your first name.""

Sarah J. Maas, American Novelist

Humor, Name, Power, Request, Playfulness

5

"So you know what mean when I say that I don't think anyone who falls in love has a choice. You're just pulled to that person like true north, whether it's good for you or bound to break your heart."

"So you know what mean when I say that I don't think anyone who falls in love has a choice. You're just pulled to that person like true north, whether it's good for you or bound to break your heart."

Jodi Picoult, American Novelist

Romance, Love, Choice, Attraction, Heartbreak

5

"The men that is now is only all palaver and what they can get out of you."

"The men that is now is only all palaver and what they can get out of you."

James Joyce, Irish Novelist

5

"There had once been a time when I'd dreaded the end of summer, had prayed it would hold out for as long as possible. Now the thought of endless warmth and sun made me . . . bored. Restless."

"There had once been a time when I'd dreaded the end of summer, had prayed it would hold out for as long as possible. Now the thought of endless warmth and sun made me . . . bored. Restless."

Sarah J. Maas, American Novelist

Change, Summer, Youth, Emotion

5

"Yes, I am here. And you are lucky to be here too after all the absurd things you've done since you left home."

"Yes, I am here. And you are lucky to be here too after all the absurd things you've done since you left home."

J. R. R. Tolkien, English Novelist

Life, Presence, Luck, Home, Journey

5

"Khione's eyes flared pure white. For once, she seemed at a loss for words. She stormed back up the stairs-literally. Halfway up, she turned into a blizzard and disappeared."

"Khione's eyes flared pure white. For once, she seemed at a loss for words. She stormed back up the stairs-literally. Halfway up, she turned into a blizzard and disappeared."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Transformation, Power, Truth, Regret, Inspirational

5

"During my first few weeks in Italy, all my Protestant synapses were zinging in distress, looking for a task. I wanted to take on pleasure like a homework assignment, or a giant science fair project."

"During my first few weeks in Italy, all my Protestant synapses were zinging in distress, looking for a task. I wanted to take on pleasure like a homework assignment, or a giant science fair project."

Elizabeth Gilbert, American Novelist

Pleasure, Guilt, Culture, Joy

5

"And then things would be fine. Then I'd be fine."

"And then things would be fine. Then I'd be fine."

Sarah J. Maas, American Novelist

Mental, Healing, Recovery, Hope, Emotion

5

"The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in their turn speak of things. Without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts; therefore it is dumb."

"The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in their turn speak of things. Without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts; therefore it is dumb."

Umberto Eco, Italian Novelist

Being, Dumb, Eye, Lies

5

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