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John Irving Quotes

One of the humbling things about having written more than one novel is the sense that every time you begin, that new empty page does not know who you are Picture Quote #1

I write the last line, and then I write the line before that. I find myself writing backwards for a while, until I have a solid sense of how that ending sounds and feels. You have to know what your voice sounds like at the end of the story, because it tells you how to sound when you begin Picture Quote #1

What has been violated here is your freedom of choice, and every woman’s freedom of choice, too Picture Quote #1

The principal event of my childhood was that no adult in my family would tell me who my father was Picture Quote #1

I don’t think I’ve had a very interesting life, and I feel that is a great liberation. That gives me great freedom as a fiction writer. Nothing that happened holds any special tyranny over me Picture Quote #1

I’ve always preferred writing in longhand. I’ve always written first drafts in longhand Picture Quote #1

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I don’t read anything electronically. I don’t write electronically, either - except e-mails to my family and friends. I write in longhand. I have always written first drafts by hand, but I used to write subsequent drafts and insert pages on a typewriter Picture Quote #1

Know the story before you fall in love with your first sentence. If you don’t know the story before you begin the story, what kind of a storyteller are you? Just an ordinary kind, just a mediocre kind Â” making it up as you go along, like a common liar Picture Quote #1

I lived five years in the Midwest, and I loved it. The people were so nice. The people were so open Picture Quote #1

If you asked me one day, I might say, Well, sometimes I feel a little bit religious. If you asked me another day, I’d just say flat out, No Picture Quote #1

Â¦there was no more safety to be found in love than there was to be found in a virus Picture Quote #1

When you legislate personal belief, you’re in violation of freedom of religion Picture Quote #1

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You don’t want to be ungenerous toward people who give you prizes, but it is never the social or political message that interests me in a novel. I begin with an interest in a relationship, a situation, a character Picture Quote #1

But writers, Garp knew, were just observers - good and ruthless imitators of human behavior Picture Quote #1

I was brought up in a community, in a family that valued such things as good manners, and I still do Picture Quote #1

I grew up around books - my grandmother’s house, where I lived as a small child, was full of books. My father was a history teacher, and he loved the Russian novels. There were always books around Picture Quote #1

I think better of our behaviour as individuals than I do when we see ourselves as members of a group. It’s when people start forming groups that we have to watch our backs Picture Quote #1

I grew up without a father, who was kept a mystery to me. There was a sense of uprootedness, things being one day here and the next day not; a sense anything could happen. Then, all of a sudden, my mother met my stepfather, and her life became happier, and my life changed, my name changed Picture Quote #1

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Religious freedom should work two ways: we should be free to practice the religion of our choice, but we must also be free from having someone else’s religion practiced on us Picture Quote #1

Â¦ and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life Picture Quote #1

You can't learn everything you need to know legally Picture Quote #1

There are always suicides among people who are unable to say what they mean Picture Quote #1

There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep Picture Quote #1

They were involved in that awkward procedure of getting to unknow each other Picture Quote #1

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A truly happy woman drives some men and almost every other woman absolutely crazy Picture Quote #1

Nearly everything seems a letdown after a writer has finished writing something Picture Quote #1

To each other, we were as normal and nice as the smell of bread. We were just a family. In a family even exaggerations make perfect sense Picture Quote #1

I have pretty thick skin, and I think if you're going to be in this business, if you're going to be an actor or a writer, you better have a thick skin Picture Quote #1

I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the world of my imagination is a richer and more interesting place than my personal biography Picture Quote #1

I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I have nothing but sympathy for how people behave - and nothing but laughter to console them with Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

One of the humbling things about having written more than one novel is the sense that every time you begin, that new empty page does not know who you are. (John Irving Quotes) I write the last line, and then I write the line before that. I find myself writing backwards for a while, until I have a solid sense of how that ending sounds and feels. You have to know what your voice sounds like at the end of the story, because it tells you how to sound when you begin. (John Irving Quotes) What has been violated here is your freedom of choice, and every woman’s freedom of choice, too. (John Irving Quotes) The principal event of my childhood was that no adult in my family would tell me who my father was (John Irving Quotes) I don’t think I’ve had a very interesting life, and I feel that is a great liberation. That gives me great freedom as a fiction writer. Nothing that happened holds any special tyranny over me. (John Irving Quotes) I’ve always preferred writing in longhand. I’ve always written first drafts in longhand. (John Irving Quotes) I don’t read anything electronically. I don’t write electronically, either - except e-mails to my family and friends. I write in longhand. I have always written first drafts by hand, but I used to write subsequent drafts and insert pages on a typewriter. (John Irving Quotes) Know the story before you fall in love with your first sentence. If you don’t know the story before you begin the story, what kind of a storyteller are you? Just an ordinary kind, just a mediocre kind Â” making it up as you go along, like a common liar. (John Irving Quotes) I lived five years in the Midwest, and I loved it. The people were so nice. The people were so open. (John Irving Quotes) If you asked me one day, I might say, Well, sometimes I feel a little bit religious. If you asked me another day, I’d just say flat out, No. (John Irving Quotes) Â¦there was no more safety to be found in love than there was to be found in a virus (John Irving Quotes) When you legislate personal belief, you’re in violation of freedom of religion (John Irving Quotes) You don’t want to be ungenerous toward people who give you prizes, but it is never the social or political message that interests me in a novel. I begin with an interest in a relationship, a situation, a character. (John Irving Quotes) But writers, Garp knew, were just observers - good and ruthless imitators of human behavior (John Irving Quotes) I was brought up in a community, in a family that valued such things as good manners, and I still do. (John Irving Quotes) I grew up around books - my grandmother’s house, where I lived as a small child, was full of books. My father was a history teacher, and he loved the Russian novels. There were always books around. (John Irving Quotes) I think better of our behaviour as individuals than I do when we see ourselves as members of a group. It’s when people start forming groups that we have to watch our backs. (John Irving Quotes) I grew up without a father, who was kept a mystery to me. There was a sense of uprootedness, things being one day here and the next day not; a sense anything could happen. Then, all of a sudden, my mother met my stepfather, and her life became happier, and my life changed, my name changed. (John Irving Quotes) Religious freedom should work two ways: we should be free to practice the religion of our choice, but we must also be free from having someone else’s religion practiced on us. (John Irving Quotes) Â¦ and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life. (John Irving Quotes) You can't learn everything you need to know legally (John Irving Quotes) There are always suicides among people who are unable to say what they mean (John Irving Quotes) There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep (John Irving Quotes) They were involved in that awkward procedure of getting to unknow each other (John Irving Quotes) A truly happy woman drives some men and almost every other woman absolutely crazy (John Irving Quotes) Nearly everything seems a letdown after a writer has finished writing something (John Irving Quotes) To each other, we were as normal and nice as the smell of bread. We were just a family. In a family even exaggerations make perfect sense (John Irving Quotes) I have pretty thick skin, and I think if you're going to be in this business, if you're going to be an actor or a writer, you better have a thick skin (John Irving Quotes) I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the world of my imagination is a richer and more interesting place than my personal biography (John Irving Quotes) I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I have nothing but sympathy for how people behave - and nothing but laughter to console them with (John Irving Quotes)

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