John Kessel Quotes

Sequels are very rarely a good idea, and in any case, the success of the book changed my relationship with the club in some ways.

To put it simply - you know, a lot of people believe that the benefit of this job is fame and fortune. I believe that you pay for the fortune through the fame. I don't buy into the notion that being famous is somehow a good thing, or an exciting thing, or a wonderful thing.

Well, any effort to maximize your potential and ability is a good thing.

I think what was frustrating to see a lot of good people go. You don't picture it, you don't imagine it, don't think it could happen. When it does, you are puzzled.

I employ case studies of failure into my courses, emphasizing that they teach us much more than studies of success. It is not that success stories cannot serve as models of good design or as exemplars of creative engineering. They can do that, but they cannot teach us how close to failure they are.

When I was 26, I wrote my first mystery, 'The Thomas Berryman Number', and it was turned down by, I don't know, 31 publishers. Then it won an Edgar for Best First Novel. Go figure.

I was a starter and did some good things there, and then I got a chance to prove myself as a closer. Because of that opportunity, I was blessed with the honor of being elected to the Hall of Fame.

People think that if you've written a book and somebody's given you a pat on the back then, you know, it's all - you're all settled, you know? You're going to be fine. I know that if I'm not confused, and really afraid, my work isn't going to be any good.

Any time you're lucky enough to get on a show people watch, it's a good thing.

I thought if I was lucky it would be a nice, modest-sized, modest-budgeted film that would be a modest success. And then something happened.

When people recognize your work and want to reward you for what you've done, that's a good feeling.

People often call 'If I Stay' my baby novel, and I have to correct them. It's not my first book. It's just the first one anybody paid attention to.

For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.

The good thing about people underestimating models is that the bar is set so low, you tend to impress people more easily.

The one good thing is that I get a lot more good scripts coming through my letterbox. 'Vera Drake' raised my profile in one way, and then 'Harry Potter' in another.

I grabbed 19 rebounds in my first professional game, and somehow found a way to score 20 points. I felt real good about it. I felt that this was the beginning of something good.

In football, the good thing is things can change in a second.

I came on to the film with a very happy-go-lucky attitude which I think my character, Charlie, did when she went into the house. I expected it to be good, and then slowly things started to change for us all.

I was pleasantly surprised after the book came out. It was like, hey, the home team put down a nice score.

Ambitious failure, magnificent failure, is a very good thing.

I'm very proud of the fact that I'm one of Britain's biggest selling poets. That gives me a huge amount of pleasure.

All actors are looking for that role that's going to define who they are. When it happens, it's a good thing.

I want to do something that people can really say, 'Hey, man, that was good, I'm proud of you, I'm proud of that.' 'Pride' and 'Transformers' and things like that.

I am uncompromising to the point of huge dissension in the studio. And it's served me very well. My theory and my philosophy is, 'Compromise breeds mediocrity.' Obviously, you have to pick your battles, and the more success an artist has, the more they want to be involved in their own career, which is not necessarily a good thing.

I was always told you're not going to make much money from writing. You can actually do it. Now I've built a really good, big house out of words.