Reader Quotes - Page 33

• It's good not only to realize that you can't please all of the people all of the time, but that you don't want to. There's a certain type of reader that you don't ever want to write for.

  Dennis Lehane

  Writing, People, Want

  "A life in writing: Dennis Lehane" by Emma Brockes, www.theguardian.com. January 23, 2009.

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• I think there's no excuse for the American poetry reader not knowing a good deal about what is going on in the rest of the world.

  James Laughlin

  Thinking, Knowing, World

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• I think there is a great difference, in that when the poet is reading you get the whole personality of the person, especially if he's a good reader. Whereas a person just sitting gets what he puts into it.

  James Laughlin

  Reading, Thinking, Differences

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• At the end of 'Illusions,' readers should see the inevitable coming.

  Aprilynne Pike

  Illusion, Ends, Should

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• Before 'Wings' came out, I told a few people that at the end of book one, readers should think Laurel made the right choice. Then, at the end of 'Spells,' they should understand why Laurel made the choice she did.

  Aprilynne Pike

  Book, Thinking, Wings

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• I write for somebody who has my own limitations. My reader has a certain difficulty with concentrating, which in my case comes from being a film viewer.

  Manuel Puig

  Writing, Literature, Film

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• Whenever I write, I'm always thinking of the reader.

  Manuel Puig

  Writing, Thinking, Literature

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• I do have to earn a living, so I'm conscious of probable reactions from readers, but the most important one is still the awareness that if I'm not enjoying a story, the reader won't either.

  Thomas Perry

  Important, Stories, Awareness

  Interview with Ann Bruns, www.bookreporter.com. January 17, 2003.

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• I'm interested in Scotland now and then, how it's changed. I want to get the reader to think about that by thinking about something from the past. How has society changed, how has policing changed, have we changed philosophically, psychologically, culturally, spiritually?

  Ian Rankin

  Thinking, Past, Scotland

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• Writers themselves benefit from all helpful information about their task and methods. Readers, in turn, can have both their understanding and appreciation of literature enhanced by information about the writer's work.

  Leland Ryken

  Appreciation, Understanding, Tasks

  Leland Ryken (2011). “The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing”, p.157, Shaw Books

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• I've mis-signed many a book Rollins or Clemens. My readers quickly become aware. Booksellers will often promote me under both names, and I do plug both at signings. Generally, the fantasy reader has no problem going into the suspense genre. It's harder for the typical suspense reader to go the other direction.

  James Rollins

  Book, Names, Suspense

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• I'm not a masochistic reader. If something is just too dense or not enjoyable, even though I'm told it should be good for me, I'll put it down. That said, most of what I read would be considered high-end or good for you, I suppose. But, I also think that reading should be enjoyable.

  Josh Radnor

  Reading, Thinking, Would Be

  "Josh Radnor Talks Liberal Arts, Books as Entertainment Vs. Enrichment, How I Met Your Mother, Ending the Series and More". Interview with Christina Radish, collider.com. September 12, 2012.

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• Believe me, I love commerce as much as the rest of the readers of 'Businessweek.' But in art, you have to be true to yourself and your musical vision. People have known me well for a long time, so if I was chasing a trend and doing something that wasn't authentic to who I am, they would know it in just a few seconds.

  Lionel Richie

  Art, Believe, Who I Am

  "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• One of my goals is to allow readers to see my characters and the world they inhabit as vividly as possible.

  Ron Rash

  Character, Goal, World

  "This Week in Fiction: Ron Rash" by Deborah Treisman, www.newyorker.com. May 9, 2011.

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• Short fiction is the medium I love the most, because it requires that I bring everything I've learned about poetry - the concision, the ability to say something as vividly as possible - but also the ability to create a narrative that, though lacking a novel's length, satisfies the reader.

  Ron Rash

  Fiction, Narrative, I've Learned

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• All we need to do, reader or writer, from first line to final page, is be as open as a book, and be alive to the life in language - on all its levels.

  Ali Smith

  Book, Finals, Needs

  "Ali Smith: Style vs content? Novelists should approach their art with an eye to what the story asks". www.theguardian.com. August 18, 2012.

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• Normally, I have a lot of alpha readers on my books. These are people that, once I finish a novel, I let them look at it and give me a reader response.

  Brandon Sanderson

  Book, People, Giving

  "JordanCon". Interview with Richard Fife, www.tor.com. June 7, 2010.

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• I'm a writer because I love reading. I love the conversation between a reader and a writer, and that it all takes place in a book-sort of a neutral ground. A writer puts down the words, and a reader interprets the words, and every reader will read a book differently. I love that.

  Garth Stein

  Book, Reading, Conversation

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• My parents were very supportive and always encouraged us. My father was a gentle, nice man. My mother was quite a colourful character and a keen reader who encouraged me to write.

  Alexander McCall Smith

  Mother, Father, Nice

  "Alexander McCall Smith: My family values". Interview with Michelle Hodgson, www.theguardian.com. April 22, 2011.

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• As a writer, I have readers who will have a range of political views. I don't think they look to me for political guidance.

  Alexander McCall Smith

  Thinking, Views, Political

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• There came this point where I sat down with all my notebooks and I had to start to write, when I thought: this whole notion of writing for the person who understands nothing, the average reader ... He has to die! I can't have him in my head. And so the person I started writing for was the homicide detective.

  David Simon

  Notebook, Writing, Average

  "Arrogant? Moi?". Interview with Oliver Burkeman, www.theguardian.com. March 27, 2009.

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• I'm writing for my ideal reader, for somebody who's willing to take the time, who's willing to get lost in a new world, who's willing to do their part. But then I have to do my part and give them a sound and a voice that they believe in enough to keep going.

  Elizabeth Strout

  Believe, Writing, Voice

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• The fact of the matter is I always have a really high sense of responsibility to the reader, whether it's a few readers that I get or a lot of readers, which I was lucky enough to get with 'Olive.' I feel responsible to them, to deliver something as truthful and straight as I can.

  Elizabeth Strout

  Responsibility, Lucky, Matter

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• Early on, a story's meaning and rationale seem pretty obvious, but then, as I write it, I realize that I know the meaning/rationale too well, which means that the reader will also know it - and so things have to be ramped up.

  George Saunders

  Writing, Mean, Stories

  George Saunders (2013). “Tenth of December”, p.29, A&C Black

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• I plot as I go. Many novelists write an outline that has almost as many pages as their ultimate book. Others knock out a brief synopsis... Do what is comfortable. If you have to plot out every move your characters make, so be it. Just make sure there is a plausible purpose behind their machinations. A good reader can smell a phony plot a block away.

  Clive Cussler

  Block, Moving, Book

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