“We human beings glimpse lofty ideals, catch ourselves betraying them, and sink to suicidal despair--despair from which only the love of our… — John Gardner Friendship Copy Share Image
“all writers, given adequate technique—technique that communicates—can stir our interest in their special subject matter, since at heart all fiction treats, directly… — John Gardner Fear Copy Share Image
“Like other kinds of intelligence, the storyteller's is partly natural, partly trained. It is composed of several qualities, most of which, in… — John Gardner Dirty joke Copy Share Image
“The instruction here is not for every kind of writer - not for the writer of nurse books or thrillers or porno… — John Gardner Authors Copy Share Image
“Sentimentality, in all its forms, is the attempt to get some effect without providing due cause. (I take it for granted that… — John Gardner Sentimentality Copy Share Image
“What the young writer needs to develop, to achieve his goal of becoming a great artist, is not a set of aesthetic… — John Gardner Art Copy Share Image
“Part of the writer's problem may be thee wrong kind of appreciation: hen he does work he knows to be less than… — John Gardner First place Copy Share Image
“The best way a writer can find to keep himself going is to live off his (or her) spouse. The trouble is… — John Gardner Dependence Copy Share Image
“When a writer first begins to write, he or she feels the same first thrill of achievement that the young gambler or… — John Gardner Adventure Copy Share Image
“Don’t be fooled by clever hands, sir” the Sunlight Man said. He’d be lying with the back of his head on his… — John Gardner Copy Share Image
“Sometimes when one cannot stand the story or novel one is working on, it helps to write something else—a different story or… — John Gardner Books Copy Share Image
“Writer's block comes from the feeling that one is doing the wrong thing or doing the right thing badly. Fiction written for… — John Gardner Art Copy Share Image
“He could never forgive her for "cheating" on his father. His words, not hers. A child's word. "Selfish bitch," he'd called her… — John Gardner Children Copy Share Image
“True artists, whatever smiling faces they may show you, are obsessive, driven people--whether driven by some mania or driven by some high,… — John Gardner Art Copy Share Image
“Theme is not imposed on the story but evoke from within it--initally an intuitive but finally an intellectual act on the part… — John Gardner Storytelling Copy Share Image
“Except in stock locutions, such as "You were paid yesterday," "The Germans were defeated," or "The project was abandoned," the passive voice… — John Gardner Bad writing Copy Share Image
“O the ultimate evil in the temporal world is deeper than any specific evil, such as hatred, or suffering, or death! The… — John Gardner Death Copy Share Image
I know everything, you see,' the old voice wheedled. 'The beginning, the present, the end. Everything. You now, you see the past… — John Gardner Copy Share Image
