Books Quote by Mo Yan

An author who sets his reader on sounding the depths of his own thoughts serves him best.

— Amos Bronson Alcott

I do extensive research before I begin writing, but only a fraction of the research goes into the novels. The writer does not need…

— Edward Rutherfurd

A writer should always feel like he's in over his head

— Michael Cunningham

“Characters in novels sometimes radiate more energy, therefore, when we don’t enter their mind. It is one of the techniques a novelist acquires instinctively—don’t…

— Norman Mailer

“When a writer has deep thoughts, I expect him to also have a deep voice. And if he doesn’t, he should remain silent and…

— Jarod Kintz

A novel should tell a story, be a pleasure to read, and at the same time it should be thought-provoking, even a bit instructive.

— Olga Tokarczuk

“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…

— Friedrich Nietzsche

Thoughts fly and words go on foot. Therein lies all the drama of a writer.

— Julien Green

If the novelist shares his or her problems with the characters, he or she is able to study his personal unconscious.

— Manuel Puig

“Writing is a form of intense thinking that takes a person on a journey into previously uncharted territory of the writer’s mind.”

— Kilroy J. Oldster

[A writer] must try to think clearly, to feel deeply, to write honestly. If he is fortunate he will make a living, but his…

— Lawrence Clark Powell

“...no mind ever grew fat on a diet of novels. The pleasure which they occasionally offer is far too heavily paid for: they undermine…

— Elias Canetti