Books Quote by Alexander McCall Smith

Novels attempt to render human experience; that's really all they are. They are meant to convey empathy for the character.

— Sue Monk Kidd

Serial fiction is a conceit of comic books and soap operas. As one goes, so goes the other in terms of public consciousness.

— Mark Waid

Writing novels preserves you in a state of innocence - a lot passes you by - simply because your attention is otherwise diverted.

— Anita Brookner

Writers of novels and romance in general bring a double loss to their readers; robbing them of their time and money; representing men, manners,…

— Mary Wortley Montagu

The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers

— Jacques Barzun

In a novel, the relationship between writer and reader is such a pure one.

— Howard Gordon

Fiction writers are strange beasts. They are, like all writers, observers first and foremost. Everything that happens to and around them is potential material…

— Terry Brooks

That's the fine balance of a fiction writer...to be able to give your characters enough freedom to surprise you and yet still maintain some…

— Alan Lightman

Novels function and the power of novels function because of their stories.

— Mohsin Hamid

Writing a novel is one of those modern rites of passage, I think, that lead us from an innocent world of contentment, drunkenness, and…

— J. G. Ballard

I'd love to adapt more contemporary novels. But there isn't really enough story and character to make a really satisfying serial, so they tend…

— Andrew Davies

Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I'm always irritated by people who…

— Flannery O'Connor