Books Quote by John Irving

You can catch a scent in the wind - an idea, or a concept - and follow it. You can delve into your subconscious…

— Lynn Coady

When I start writing a novel, I have no sense of direction, no idea, really nothing.

— William Gibson

I'm always telling myself as I write that I'm not really writing a novel; I'm just going to fool around with a character or…

— Robert Cormier

I know very dimly when I start what's going to happen. I just have a very general idea, and then the thing develops as…

— Aldous Huxley

Whenever I write a novel, I have a strong sense that I am doing something I was unable to do before. With each new…

— Haruki Murakami

A writer helps to show you things you knew but didn't know you knew.

— Dennis Potter

You have to wait for your mind to catch up with whatever it is it’s working on; then you can write a novel.

— James M. Cain

I am a novelist. I traffic in subtleties, and my goal in writing a novel is to leave the reader not knowing what to…

— Teju Cole

Objectifying your own novel while writing it never really helps. Instead, I guess while you're writing you need to think: This is the novel…

— Meg Wolitzer

To know what you want to say is not the best condition for writing a novel. Novels go happiest when you discover something you…

— Norman Mailer

When you get ready to write your novel, outline it first. There's nothing worse than getting halfway through and realizing you've painted yourself in…

— Janet Evanovich

The concept of writing a novel and not knowing where it's going - I don't know how to do that. Novels are plot- and…

— John Irving