#novelist

No poet or novelist wishes he were the only one who ever lived, but most of them wish they were the only one alive, and quite a number fondly believe their wish has been granted. ↗

— W. H. Auden

#been #believe #ever #fondly #granted

Kingsley Amis was one of a trio of brilliant comic novelists who made English literature sparkle in the twentieth century. ↗

— Russell Baker

#century #comic #english #english literature #literature

I was directed because I knew I wanted to be a novelist, but I didn't have a very good job or a way of getting published. I found those years to be among the most difficult of my life. ↗

— Jeffrey Eugenides

#because #difficult #directed #found #getting

Novelists are always resisting autobiographical readings of their work, because they know how false those can be. ↗

— Jeffrey Eugenides

#autobiographical #because #false #how #know

Some Pulitzer winners - novelists - have confided to me that getting the prize screwed them up. It messed with their heads. That hasn't been my experience. ↗

— Jeffrey Eugenides

#confided #experience #getting #hasn #heads

It's like a novelist writing far out things. If it makes a point and makes sense, then people like to read that. But if it's off in left field and goes over the edge, you lose it. The same with musical talent, I think. ↗

— Johnny Cash

#far #field #goes #i #i think

I never met anybody in my life who says, I want to be a critic. People want to be a fireman, poet, novelist. ↗

— Leslie Fiedler

#critic #fireman #i #life #met

One more recent novelist to come along is Cormac McCarthy. Him, I like. ↗

— Leslie Fiedler

#come #him #i #like #mccarthy

I was going to be a great woman novelist. Then the war came along and I think it's hard for young people today, don't you, to realize that when World War II happened we were dying to go and help our country. ↗

— Julia Child

#came #country #dying #go #going

So, how to stay inside the world of entertainment without actually getting another job? I felt the only logical answer was to become a novelist. So I wrote the first book - driven by some very real feelings of desperation - and it worked. ↗

— Lee Child

#another #answer #become #book #desperation