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John Irving Quotes

If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it Picture Quote #1

The building of the architecture of a novel - the craft of it - is something I never tire of Picture Quote #1

Your memory is a monster; it summons with will of its own. You think you have a memory, but it has you Picture Quote #1

I always begin with a character or characters, and then try to think up as much action for them as possible Picture Quote #1

Half my life is an act of revision; more than half the act is performed with small changes Picture Quote #1

The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything 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

I don’t begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I don’t mean only that I have to know what happens. I mean that I have to hear the actual sentences. I have to know what atmosphere the words convey Picture Quote #1

Sometimes that’s a year, sometimes it’s 18 months, where all I’m doing is taking notes. I’m reconstructing the story from the back to the front so that I know where the front is Picture Quote #1

There’s no reason you shouldn’t, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to revise yourself constantly Picture Quote #1

Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I write I keep looking for casualties. The stories uncover the casualties Picture Quote #1

You don’t want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior to my critics for the simple reason that they haven’t done what I do. Most book reviewers haven’t written 11 novels. Many of them haven’t written one Picture Quote #1

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You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes. No, you have to be able to imagine something else. While you’re skipping rope, you have to be able to see something else Picture Quote #1

Life forces enough final decisions on us. We should have the sense to avoid as many of the unnecessary ones as we can Picture Quote #1

If you presume to love something, you must love the process of it much more than you love the finished product Picture Quote #1

I do know where I’m going and it’s just a matter of finding the language to get there Picture Quote #1

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

I never know when I finish the novel I am writing which will be the next novel out of the station Picture Quote #1

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My old coach used to say that if you were in it for the match, if you were in it for the trophies, you were in it for the wrong reasons Picture Quote #1

So, I don’t work in terms of real time. I don’t work in a timely fashion Picture Quote #1

Whatever I write, no matter how gray or dark the subject matter, it’s still going to be a comic novel Picture Quote #1

What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us wind up in parentheses Picture Quote #1

The more clearly one sees this world; the more one is obliged to pretend it does not exist Picture Quote #1

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

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A woman half dressed seemed to have some power, but a man was simply not as handsome as when he was naked, and not as secure as when he was clothed Picture Quote #1

The powerful wind swept his hair away from his face; he leaned his chest into the wind, as if he stood on the deck of a ship heading into the wind, slicing through the waves of an ocean he’d not yet seen Picture Quote #1

This is a writer’s lesson: To learn that the sounds that we imagine can be the clearest, loudest sounds of all Picture Quote #1

As it was, things went from bad to worse, as they often will when amateurs are involved in an activity that they perform in bad temper – or in a hurry Picture Quote #1

I will tell you what is my overriding perception of the last twenty years: that we are a civilization careening toward a succession of anticlimaxes – toward an infinity of unsatisfying, and disagreeable endings Picture Quote #1

You take every opportunity given you in this world, even if you have too many opportunities. One day, the opportunities stop, you know Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

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Text Quotes

If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it (John Irving Quotes) The building of the architecture of a novel - the craft of it - is something I never tire of (John Irving Quotes) Your memory is a monster; it summons with will of its own. You think you have a memory, but it has you (John Irving Quotes) I always begin with a character or characters, and then try to think up as much action for them as possible (John Irving Quotes) Half my life is an act of revision; more than half the act is performed with small changes (John Irving Quotes) The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything (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) I don’t begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I don’t mean only that I have to know what happens. I mean that I have to hear the actual sentences. I have to know what atmosphere the words convey (John Irving Quotes) Sometimes that’s a year, sometimes it’s 18 months, where all I’m doing is taking notes. I’m reconstructing the story from the back to the front so that I know where the front is (John Irving Quotes) There’s no reason you shouldn’t, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to revise yourself constantly (John Irving Quotes) Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I write I keep looking for casualties. The stories uncover the casualties (John Irving Quotes) You don’t want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior to my critics for the simple reason that they haven’t done what I do. Most book reviewers haven’t written 11 novels. Many of them haven’t written one (John Irving Quotes) You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes. No, you have to be able to imagine something else. While you’re skipping rope, you have to be able to see something else (John Irving Quotes) Life forces enough final decisions on us. We should have the sense to avoid as many of the unnecessary ones as we can (John Irving Quotes) If you presume to love something, you must love the process of it much more than you love the finished product (John Irving Quotes) I do know where I’m going and it’s just a matter of finding the language to get there (John Irving Quotes) I’ve always preferred writing in longhand. I’ve always written first drafts in longhand (John Irving Quotes) I never know when I finish the novel I am writing which will be the next novel out of the station (John Irving Quotes) My old coach used to say that if you were in it for the match, if you were in it for the trophies, you were in it for the wrong reasons (John Irving Quotes) So, I don’t work in terms of real time. I don’t work in a timely fashion (John Irving Quotes) Whatever I write, no matter how gray or dark the subject matter, it’s still going to be a comic novel (John Irving Quotes) What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us wind up in parentheses (John Irving Quotes) The more clearly one sees this world; the more one is obliged to pretend it does not exist (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) A woman half dressed seemed to have some power, but a man was simply not as handsome as when he was naked, and not as secure as when he was clothed (John Irving Quotes) The powerful wind swept his hair away from his face; he leaned his chest into the wind, as if he stood on the deck of a ship heading into the wind, slicing through the waves of an ocean he’d not yet seen (John Irving Quotes) This is a writer’s lesson: To learn that the sounds that we imagine can be the clearest, loudest sounds of all (John Irving Quotes) As it was, things went from bad to worse, as they often will when amateurs are involved in an activity that they perform in bad temper – or in a hurry (John Irving Quotes) I will tell you what is my overriding perception of the last twenty years: that we are a civilization careening toward a succession of anticlimaxes – toward an infinity of unsatisfying, and disagreeable endings (John Irving Quotes) You take every opportunity given you in this world, even if you have too many opportunities. One day, the opportunities stop, you know (John Irving Quotes)

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