Naomi Alderman Quotes

Most don't live inside their heads as a writer does, having conversations with her own ideas.

There are definitely times - and I think this is pretty common among cartoonists - where you spend an entire day trying to think of an idea, and you're like, 'I give up.' And then you go and take a shower or run an errand, and halfway there, you get an idea.

I can't really say - if I've run out of ideas until I've had my next set of ideas.

The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid; the state of being alone.

You can't buy something which does not exist. In a way, let's make things exist and then judge later. Don't cancel the process of creativity too early; let it flow.

When I'm writing I just think there's only the page and me and nobody else.

The more you reason the less you create.

I write about two hours a day, and I write in fits and spurts - 45 minutes here, a half-hour there - and when I get stuck, which happens often, I take the dogs for a walk. But during the time when I'm not actually writing, I'm thinking.

Weirdly, often the more I write, the more ideas I have.

It's fun being creative and that's satisfying.

My imagination functions much better when I don't have to speak to people.

I often find that having an idea in my head prevents me from doing something else. Working is therefore a way of getting rid of an idea.

I daydream all the time, and I like that quality.

The characters emerge from my rather twisted mind. That's another enjoyable part of the job making stuff up.

I've often said that there's no such thing as writer's block; the problem is idea block.

I think that everything is part of creativity - the more you create, the more you have ideas, and the more you meet people.

I am prone to get carried away thinking about creative projects.

You have to work with the ideas and give them a little push.

Quite often, little germs of ideas have come from something that I've observed or someone's told me. The process of it becoming fiction is expanding and extending it: stretching the rubber band of reality.

Writer's block! It doesn't exist. You just long for ideas to go away so you have an idea of peace.

It's not enough to tell people to be creative; they need to know how, and what to create.

I was 12. Our, teacher made us write an autobiography and I realised that I wasn't very interesting. I began to make things up, and that's when I thought maybe I was a writer, or at least a fiction writer.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

And I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just spend time by myself hasn't diminished any. That's the necessary part of being a writer, you better like being alone.

Creativity is a spark. It can be excruciating when we're rubbing two rocks together and getting nothing. And it can be intensely satisfying when the flame catches and a new idea sweeps around the world.