Russell Banks Quotes

I love how people in this business push themselves to know themselves, the world, and their creativity better.

Life is the most versatile thing under the sun; and in the pursuit of life and character the author who works in a groove works in blinkers.

At the typewriter you find out who you are.

The creative process has been a little bit of an experience, really - to try and make that work for me. The only way I know how to do that is just to remain genuine, humble, and true to everything I know already in my life.

Upon reflection, I decided I had three main weaknesses: I was confused (evidenced by a lack of facts, an inability to coordinate my thoughts, and an inability to verbalize my ideas); I had a lack of confidence, which cause me to back down from forcefully stated positions; and I was overly emotional at the expense of careful, 'scientific' though. I was thirty-seven years old and still discovering who I was.

Writing enlarges the landscape of the mind.

Self-knowledge is essential not only to writing, but to doing almost anything really well. It allows you to work through from a deep place - from the deep, dark corners of your subconscious mind.

I feel like I'm a much better person when I'm developing my imagination and my innocence and my vulnerability. I like that version of me better than the version where I'm just working on my analytical mind.

You may think me crude, and probably I am crude, but I am not so crude as I was, for I am clever enough to see that the girl of nineteen who thought herself a genius was only an unusual girl writing her heart out.

'What am I missing?' is a much more important question than 'How cool am I?'

It is a true miracle when a man finally sees himself as his only opposition.

If you really want to know yourself, start by writing a book.

One of the greatest moments in anybody's developing experience is when he no longer tries to hide from himself but determines to get acquainted with himself as he really is.

I started second-guessing myself and was always questioning myself. I have really learned a lot.

You look in the mirror everyday and you see the same thing. As an entertainer, you wanna see something new.

I have learned so much about myself. I have re-discovered that little boy who had the hunger to create, which I think I had lost.

The kids say golf taught them this and that. I get it with the military: A guy joins the military because he needs discipline and has to find himself. But don't tell me, 'Golf helps you find yourself.' I've been playing my whole life, and I'm still looking for myself.

I have always written only for myself - to clarify things, to clarify things with myself, to understand in an inner way what is actually happening.

I keep pushing buttons and trying to grow as a person and as a filmmaker.

Sometimes I journal three pages, sometimes I journal thirty pages, but I'm writing all the time, and whatever's happening is happening in real time for me.

My physical transformations - like changing my hair - are usually a reflection of what's inspiring me at the moment.

Writing is a really good first step toward that goal of knowing yourself.

It's not an epitaph. I felt I could look back at my life and get a good story out of it. It's a picture of somebody trying to figure things out. I'm not trying to create some impression about myself. That doesn't interest me.

I could do nice, but it's just not as much fun. Being nice isn't my biggest goal in life. I'm trying to be honest about who I am, and that's not always nice. I'm not always the world's cheerleader.

I may attempt a novel. I think that no matter what you write, it requires being honest with oneself, and you have to pull yourself out of the whirlwind of daily life.