Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” E.L. DOCTOROW
Photo: “Rain Forest in Paris” by Eole Wind
Archives for posts with tag: writing quotes
THE WRITING LIFE
quotes by Haruki Murakami
“As a novelist, you could say that I am dreaming while I am awake, and every day I can continue with yesterday’s dream. Because it is a dream, there are so many contradictions and I have to adjust them to make the story work. But, in principle, the original dream does not change.”
“I didn’t want to be a writer, but I became one. And now I have many readers, in many countries. I think that’s a miracle. So I think I have to be humble regarding this ability. I’m proud of it and I enjoy it, and it is strange to say it this way, but I respect it.”
“…if I want to express myself, I have to make up a story. Some people call it imagination. To me, it’s not imagination. It’s just a way of watching.”
“…at the time I was fond of Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, and it was from them that I learned about this kind of simple, swift-paced style…”
“When I start to write, I don’t have any plan at all. I just wait for the story to come.”
“When I am writing, I do not distinguish between the natural and supernatural. Everything seems real.”
“Whenever I write a novel, music just sort of naturally slips in (much like cats do, I suppose).”
PHOTO: Novelist Haruki Murakami with a cat friend. Cats figure in many of Murakami’s novels — especially THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE, available on Amazon.com.
“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they’ll go through anything. You read them and you’re pierced.”
ALDOUS HUXLEY, Brave New World
Graphic: “Word Swords” by Silver Birch Press
“I don’t have a name and I don’t have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me, and that should add up to a novel.”
WILLIAM SAROYAN, when asked the name of his next book.
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William Saroyan (1908-1981) was an American writer of Armenian descent who grew up in the Fresno, California, area, where many of his stories (plays, novels, short stories) take place. He is best known for his play The Time of Your Life — winner of the 1940 Pulitizer Prize — and his novel The Human Comedy (1943). Saroyan enjoyed a long and prolific career — and was the author of over 25 books, around 30 plays, and numerous short stories. In 1943, he won an Oscar for Best Story for the film version of his novel The Human Comedy.
Getting back to the Saroyan quote at the top of this post…this was one writer who could feel confident when he sat down with a typewriter and white paper that he could come up with a story — he had lots of practice doing just that.
PHOTO: William Saroyan and typewriter, awaiting the arrival of some white paper.
“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” E.L. DOCTOROW
Photo: “Rain Forest in Paris” by Eole Wind
THOUGHTS ABOUT WRITING
by Haruki Murakami
“As a novelist, you could say that I am dreaming while I am awake, and every day I can continue with yesterday’s dream. Because it is a dream, there are so many contradictions and I have to adjust them to make the story work. But, in principle, the original dream does not change.”
“I didn’t want to be a writer, but I became one. And now I have many readers, in many countries. I think that’s a miracle. So I think I have to be humble regarding this ability. I’m proud of it and I enjoy it, and it is strange to say it this way, but I respect it.”
“…if I want to express myself, I have to make up a story. Some people call it imagination. To me, it’s not imagination. It’s just a way of watching.”
“…at the time I was fond of Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, and it was from them that I learned about this kind of simple, swift-paced style…”
“When I start to write, I don’t have any plan at all. I just wait for the story to come.”
“When I am writing, I do not distinguish between the natural and supernatural. Everything seems real.”
“Whenever I write a novel, music just sort of naturally slips in (much like cats do, I suppose).”
PHOTO: Novelist Haruki Murakami with a cat friend. Cats figure in many of Murakami’s novels — especially THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE (one of my all-time favorite novels), available on Amazon.com.
Silver Birch Press 