Much has been said about the power and pleasure of reading, and not nearly enough about writing. Without writers there would be no books to read or rave about, but how much do we know about the writing process and what goes on in the minds of writers, be they novelists, journalists, or just people writing their memoirs? These quotes, some serious and some hilarious, give us a little insight into their world:
[infobox maintitle=”I don’t hang around many writers, I find regular people a lot more interesting to talk to.” subtitle=” ~ Sefi Atta, Nigerian author and playwright” bg=”yellow” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”I was working on one of my poems all morning and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again. ” subtitle=”~ Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, poet and humourist” bg=”black” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own. ” subtitle=”~ Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet and professor” bg=”green” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity. ” subtitle=”~ Chimamanda Adichie, Nigerian novelist and writer” bg=”red” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”I love my rejection slips. They show me I try. ” subtitle=”~ Sylvia Plath, poet, novelist and short story writer” bg=”teal” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. ” subtitle=”~ Stephen King, American novelist” bg=”yellow” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”Stories can conquer fear, you know. They make the heart bigger. ” subtitle=”~ Ben Okri, Nigerian poet and novelist” bg=”gray” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”If the weather’s good I swim or sunbathe. I always suspect my editors of praying for rain. ” subtitle=”~ Mary Wesley, English novelist” bg=”blue” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”Life is my biggest inspiration, followed by Lagos, which is my garden of ideas. I would atrophy as a writer if I left Lagos. ” subtitle=”~ Toni Kan, Nigerian writer and poet” bg=”yellow” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”A freelance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps. ” subtitle=”~ Robert Benchley, American humourist and journalist” bg=”purple” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”All books are either dreams or swords; you can cut, or you can drug, with words. ” subtitle=”~ Amy Lowell, American writer and Pulitzer Prize winner” bg=”red” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”“Writing is not a very glamorous job. You’re alone a lot of the time, hungry, and thinking of chocolate.” ” subtitle=”~ Jodi Picoult, American author” bg=”teal” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth. ” subtitle=”~ Wole Soyinka, Nigerian author, playwright and poet” bg=”black” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”As a writer you ask yourself to dream while awake.” subtitle=” ~ Aimee Bender, American novelist and short story writer” bg=”blue” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”For me, a word is not just a word. A word is life, beauty and struggle. ” subtitle=”~ Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Kenyan author” bg=”green” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”The men who ordain and supervise this show of shame, this tragic charade, are frightened by the word, the power of ideas, the power of the pen.” subtitle=” ~ Ken Saro Wiwa, Nigerian writer, television producer and environmental activist” bg=”brown” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ” subtitle=”~ Elmore Leonard, American novelist” bg=”teal” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes. ” subtitle=”~ John Le Carre, English writer of espionage novels” bg=”purple” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”When a story comes to me, I have to write it or it won’t let me rest. ” subtitle=”~ Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American fantasy fiction writer” bg=”blue” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”A book is like a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return. ” subtitle=”~ Salman Rushdie, British-Indian novelist” bg=”orange” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
[infobox maintitle=”I believe it is important to speak to your readers in person…to enable people to have a whole picture of me; I have to both write and speak. I view my role as writer and also as oral communicator. ” subtitle=”~ Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian novelist and playwright” bg=”teal” color=”white” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]
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