St. Lucia Quotes

For me, the short story is the depth of a novel, the breadth of a poem, and, as you come to the last few paragraphs, the experience of surprise.

A short story is one idea; a novel is a whole soup of them.

I would say 'Flower' had a story. It is told through the environment.

I was always more interested in story songs, things with a point of view... and things that informed me.

Judgments and secrets are what make a good novel.

I don't think in terms of optimism and pessimism when writing a story. I am telling a story.

Storytelling is about two things; it's about character and plot.

A short story is something that you can hold in your mind. You can really analyze how the entire thing works, like a machine.

Novels are such mysterious and amorphous and tender things.

Short stories consume you faster. They're connected to brevity. With the short story, you are up against mortality. I know how tough they are as a form, but they're also a total joy.

I'm of the Samuel Goldwyn school of writing: If you need to send a message, call Western Union. Any messages people take away from my books are the ones they see in them.

Listen to great storytellers; slowly, you will learn about voice, timing, tension, structure, climax - all the things you need to tell stories that will capture the imagination of your audience.

Plot is to literature what individual holes are to miniature golf.

Our biggest challenge is always story. The story is the ultimate thing you try to tackle.

I find that most people know what a story is until they sit down to write one.

The important thing about any book is that you have to have a good story and that it has to be exciting. Then it's nice to add other levels underneath that people can pick up on.

Fiction is socially meaningful.

'At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom' by Amy Hempel showed me the lean quality of prose.

From the beginning, the series has been story driven - I began with a story idea - but research feeds it.

My view of an excellent novel was probably set in the golden age of fiction in the 19th century: narrative, character and voice are of equal importance.

Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters generate stories, and the shape of a novel is entirely imagined but should have an aesthetic coherence.

I'm drawn to a good story, really, as I hope most people are. For me, it's the story that's going to stay with you eventually, not necessarily the genre. I go to watch a film because of the story, not because it was a Western or a comedy.

'Junkhearts' is a great story.

As a storyteller, you have the story that you tell, and you have the way you can tell it, and both are equally important.

I'm very interested in storytelling and anything that plays with structure.