Almost Quote by John Irving

I always wanted to write novels, even before I had read a lot of novels or had a very good idea of what they…

— Elif Batuman

I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it.

— Toni Morrison

Growing up, I mostly read comic books and sci-fi. Then I discovered the book 'Jane Eyre' by Jane Austen. It introduced me to the…

— Meg Cabot

Wrote my first "novel" when I was six. Studied a bit in college, but then pursued history... But when I started writing professionally, it…

— David B. Coe

The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply the strange things I happened to notice in my everyday life, stuff I read about…

— Dan Chaon

The first novel that I wrote was because I was having very interesting sorts of experiences, for Indians of my generation.

— Karan Bajaj

I've always wanted to write an early reader. When I wrote my first novel, my goal was to make it an early reader, but…

— Grace Lin

Initially I only decided to try and write a novel because I wasn't getting enough screenwriting work. It wasn't a long-held ambition, and certainly…

— Stef Penney

I always wanted to write. While I was on a long surf trip, supporting myself with various day jobs, I was working hard on…

— William Finnegan

My first book was a historical novel. I started writing in 1974. In those days, historical novels meant ladies with swelling bosoms on the…

— Hilary Mantel

I've always been a little bit more of a novel reader than a short story reader. I think the first books that made me…

— Nell Freudenberger

One of the first serious attempts I made to write a novel was when I was in Grade 6 and I had read 'Matilda.'…

— Randa Abdel-Fattah