Novelist Quotes

365 Novelist quotes by 274 unique authors

Don't be a novelist --- be a statistician. Much more scope for the imagination. — Darrell Huff
Just as the painter thinks with his brush and paints the novelist thinks with his story. — W. Somerset Maugham
Among the many problems which beset the novelist, not the least weighty is the choice of the moment at which to begin his novel. — Vita Sackville-West
Things that appear on the front page of the newspaper as 'fact' are far more dangerous than the games played by a novelist, and can… — E L Doctorow
The businessman who is a novelist is able to drop in on literature and feel no suicidal loss of esteem if the lady is not… — V. S. Pritchett
No one, at any rate no English writer, has written better about childhood than Dickens. In spite of all the knowledge that has accumulated since,… — George Orwell
You have to go out of your way as a suspense novelist to find situations where the protagonists are somewhat helpless and in real danger. — Nelson DeMille
They can't yank a novelist like they can a pitcher. A novelist has to go the full nine, even if it kills him. — Ernest Hemingway
The novelist screws up his courage in order to invest another two or three years in another attempt to float a boat of original design… — Edward Hoagland
Essential characteristic of the really great novelist: a Christ-like, all-embracing compassion. — Arnold Bennett
Language leads a double life - and so does the novelist. You chat with family and friends, you attend to your correspondence, you consult menus… — Martin Amis
I'm a novelist, so I can't write about ideas unless they're attached to people. — Julian Barnes
There was a time when the average reader read a novel simply for the moral he could get out of it, and however na?ve that… — Flannery O'Connor
I think it's restrictive to typecast myself as a novelist because I enjoy other forms of expression. I love literature and I love cinema. — Julia Leigh
To present a scientific subject in an attractive and stimulating manner is an artistic task, similar to that of a novelist or even a dramatic… — Max Born
For the first-time novelist you've got to get up at 5:30 in the morning and write until 7, make breakfast and go to work. Or,… — Ridley Pearson
I used to describe myself as a comic novelist, but my concerns seem to have darkened over the past few years. — Tom Perrotta
Personally, I have never wished I were a male novelist. — Curtis Sittenfeld
The fact is that in this day and age I don't think any novelist can assume that a book will get attention. — Curtis Sittenfeld
Nobody asks you to do this. The world out there is not panting after another novelist. We choose it. — Paul Auster
I get work because I'm primarily a novelist but I've become script doctor. I can work back and forth between French and English. — Norman Spinrad
As a novelist, you deepen your characters as you go, adding layers. As a reporter, you try to peel layers away: observing subjects enough to… — Amy Waldman
As a novelist, I mined my history, my family and my memory, but in a very specific way. Writing fiction, I never made use of… — Ayelet Waldman
Being a novelist is hard for anyone - male or female. You don't get to quit your day job. — Jennifer Weiner
The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words. — Barbara Kingsolver

Who Wrote These Novelist Quotes

274 authors contributed a total of 365 Novelist Quotes, led by these top contributors: