Lynda Barry Quotes

I do think that short story writing is often a matter of luck.

Somebody said writing is easy, you just sit down at your typewriter and open a vein. It depends on the book. Some, I have to do quite a lot of research, which I like. Others are much closer to me.

I am not much of a researcher as a novelist; I write mainly from experience.

If you are a good writer - and I think I am - you are able to handle any kind of group and imagine their lives.

I'm not one of those authors who claims to hear voices in my head or 'let the characters speak through me,' whatever that might mean.

word thrower … phrase maker

I'm a bore. I save all my energy for my characters.

Of course you bank on your experience, but as a sounding board. It isn't that you write down what happens to you every day. You wouldn't be a writer if you did that.

We all want to write the kind of book that we want to read. If you put in the things that you are thinking about and create characters who feel like they could live - at least for me, that's the way I want to write.

I want to be a better writer. I want to learn and grow, to know how to tell stories in a different and more challenging way. I've learned it doesn't get easier each time. It actually gets harder.

Mostly, I would like people to ask other writers about the craft of their writing so we could learn from one another. We ask movie directors why they chose to use certain lights and angles and speeds of film, but most of the time, we ignore the craft of a writer.

Like most art forms, writing is part instinct and part craft. The craft part is the part that can be taught, and that can make a crucial difference to lots of writers.

I've been writing for a long time.

I wouldn't like to be a character in one of my books!

I knew I would read all kinds of books and try to get at what it is that makes good writers good. But I made no promises that I would write books a lot of people would like to read.

I discovered that writing was very nice indeed when I was very young, and I never changed. I don't think my style has changed very much at all - though I hope what I say is a bit more interesting. It's about getting to know a character and loving them, I think.

Read and write with a sensitive ear. The craft of writing is very important. Practice the craft.

I prefer writing originals.

As a writer, one is busy with archaeology.

Favorite subject? I would have to say creative writing.

I've always liked new writing.

Stephen King's 'On Writing' is probably the most useful writing book I've ever read.

I don't know who said that novelists read the novels of others only to figure out how they are written. I believe it's true. We aren't satisfied with the secrets exposed on the surface of the page: we turn the book around to find the seams.

Call me the author.

I came up with new leads for game stories by being observant and clever, by using the many gifts of the English language to intrigue and hook a reader.