Quotes About Writing

I wanted to write about Jews in Montana, so I went there by plane and bus, only to discover that there are no Jews in Montana. It didn't deter me.

Being on the plane is my catch-up time. I write thank-you notes. I read. I write stand-up jokes.

I have dictated stories from an airport after writing the story out in longhand on the plane that I got from phone interviews and then was applauded by editors for 'working magic.'

I write everywhere. I've written books while I was on planes, at Disney World, and in multiple countries of which I am not a native. It can be a struggle to make word count sometimes, but I will persevere!

I write pretty much anywhere - on planes, in hotel rooms, anywhere in my house.

I've written everywhere - in hotel rooms, cafes, airports, and planes all around the world. Now I have a home office, and the wi-fi is really bad down there, which is great. If I make a date with myself to write from, say, 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. on a Saturday, the fact that no emails come in helps me focus.

You do have to kind of sit down and try to write, because it's not the easiest thing when you're off and on planes. I'm sure if you're always on a bus, it's a little bit easier.

I particularly like writing on planes. You've got nothing else to do but concentrate.

I always just wanted to be funny. I never really planned to be scary.

Originally I had planned to write just a couple of children's books and then, return the focus on adult literature. A funny thing happened along the way - I kept having new ideas, and then I looked up one day, and 30 years had passed!

If I didn't see its place in the Saga when I planned it, I probably wouldn't write it at all.

I work very deliberately, with a plan. But sometimes I come to a point that I planned as the end and it needs softening. Ending a novel is almost like putting a child to sleep - it can't be done abruptly.

Collections aren't really planned. I just keep writing short pieces until I have enough for a collection.

I never have particular actors planned when I'm in the process of writing.

The novels I planned to write were never going to be funny books about Jews. They were going to be country house books. Only later on could I write what I knew I was best at writing about.

My first book deal was for two Mark Genevich novels. I hadn't planned on writing a second Genevich novel, but I was contracted to do so, and so there I was being introduced as a crime writer.

I know some writers are meticulous planners, but I'm not one of them.

I've tried digital planners and fancy planners and date books galore, but my tried and true is actually just a large spiral-bound notebook.

If you do enough planning before you start to write, there's no way you can have writer's block. I do a complete chapter by chapter outline.

For me, writing is more a process of discovering the book than planning it.

I was initially planning to write about grief in terms of Eurydice and the myth thereof. By that point the overall metaphor of height and depth and flat and falling and rising was coming into being in my mind.

Don't set pen to paper until you know your main characters inside out. Create files detailing their appearances, likes, dislikes, and personal background. You may not use all the information, but it is a crucial step in planning your story.

I want to write a script, but before that, I am planning to compile a book of short stories.

On a normal novel, I would like to get 2,000 to 2,500 words done in a day; I average 10,000 words a week, and then there's a day for planning. With the historical ones, it's a lot harder because you have to stop and double-check facts.