Books Quote by John Irving

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…

— John Irving

I write the last line, and then I write the line before that. I find myself writing backwards for a while, until I have…

— John Irving

Usually, when I write a novel, it takes me about 100 pages to figure out the voice of the narrator.

— Colson Whitehead

I now can be sure that, once I start writing a book, I'll be able to finish it. I've also become more assured about…

— J. A. Jance

The writing begins when you’ve finished. Only then do you know what you’re trying to say.

— Anonymous

If I didn't know the ending of a story, I wouldn't begin. I always write my last lines, my last paragraph first, and then…

— Anonymous

When I start, I have a feeling for the characters, and maybe the shape of the story. Sometimes I might even have the last…

— Paul Auster

The person you are (in total, at that moment in time) is what creates the story you're writing. It's infused in every piece of…

— Victor LaValle

Every book I write, the first thing I have to do is get into the voice, and the voice varies from book to book…

— China Mieville

When I'm putting a story together, I generally know the ending and a couple of the points halfway through, and I've got sort of…

— Alan Moore

I do always know where I'm going in my books. I know the endpoint. I've written only two thousand words of my next novel…

— Jonathan Trigell

As a writer, you look for someplace to start. Once you have a beginning and you've written the first two sentences, nothing else will…

— Ronee Blakley