An allegory is not meant to be taken literally. There is a great lack of comprehension on the part of some readers.
The secret at the heart of ‘The Memory Keeper’s Daughter’ is something everybody, except for some of the characters, knows in Chapter 1. Some of the narrative tension comes from that distance between what the readers know and what the characters know.
Readers are what it’s all about, aren’t they? If not, why am I writing?
I trust, that your readers will not construe my words to mean, that I would not have gone to a 3 o’clock in the morning session, for the sake of defeating the Nebraska bill.
I cook a little bit. I make a Hungarian dish called chicken paprikash that’s out of this world. I’ll give a heads-up to all of your readers that it doesn’t have to be between Thai and Mexican every night. Toss some Hungarian in every once in a while. You will not be sorry. Good, solid peasant food.
Many people, especially young people, would like to be more independent and on their own. But it is very difficult and they suffer from feelings of isolation. I think that is one reason why young readers support my work.
Readers respond to every genre intensely, if it’s a genre that appeals to them. Again, who can say why anyone enjoys horror and dark fantasy? If I can’t answer the question for myself, I wouldn’t dream of trying to answer it for others.
I really do hope ‘The Hate U Give’ provides mirrors for readers who don’t often get them in books. I’ve had so many young black girls tell me just how thrilled they are to see someone who looks like them on the cover. I hope that they see themselves in the pages as well.
We don’t need to dumb down our stuff. And it’s important to know how far we can push readers.
My problem is never ideas. I’ve got more than I’ll ever have time to write. It’s all about how many I can get to, and which ones readers want to see the most.
During half a century of literary work, I have endeavoured to introduce the philosophy of evolution into the sphere of literature, and to inspire my readers to think in evolutionary terms.
I kind of just write what I like to write. I’m thankful that readers of different ages seem to connect to my stories. I don’t consciously think about age demographics when I’m working on my comics.
In fiction, a reaction shot is a brief portrayal of how your character reacts to something that someone else has done. In contrast to more direct character building, your guy doesn’t initiate the sequence; he completes it. Exactly how he completes it can tell readers a lot about him.
Writers are storytellers. So are readers.
I put ordinary people in jeopardy and give them the opportunity to be heroic. Then there’s a great payoff for the reader at the end, when the heroic character gets what he or she deserves. Readers will come back again and again if they feel satisfied at the end.
Think of it: television producers joining with newspapers to tell stories. It’s journalism of the future. Advertising will follow the crowd – the ‘crowd’ being viewers and readers, of course, which could bring revenue back into journalism.
I realize that, to many readers, Hard Fantasy may seem to be a contradiction in terms. Fantasy, according to most generally recognized definitions, differs from both ‘real world’ fiction and ‘science fiction’ in that magic or magical creatures are active elements.
‘In the Cut’ was not what readers expected of me. Before it was published, I was seen as a women’s writer, which meant that I wrote movingly about flowers and children.
I hope readers will think that ‘The Thing About Life’ is beautifully patterned, a tapestry.
By coincidence and not design, ‘Everstar’ is written and drawn by an all-female creative team, and it makes me smile to think that there may be young female readers out there, future writers and artists, who get to see that comics doesn’t have to be a ‘boys’ club.’
I’m very critical of crime novels that use gratuitous violence to shock readers when it isn’t necessary. If that’s all you have to offer as a writer, perhaps you’re in the wrong job.
Sometimes I have to compromise my views, but I never compromise on issues like the death penalty and the arm trade laws, despite what the readers or letters may say.
My father was an engineer – he wasn’t literary, not a writer or a journalist, but he was one of the world’s great readers.
Like most readers, I tend to skip the acknowledgements at the beginnings of books: the ‘To-My-Wife-Without-Whose-Invaluable-Assistance’ kind of thing.
I’ve mis-signed many a book Rollins or Clemens. My readers quickly become aware. Booksellers will often promote me under both names, and I do plug both at signings. Generally, the fantasy reader has no problem going into the suspense genre. It’s harder for the typical suspense reader to go the other direction.
I remember how a man once got in touch with me to tell me that he was so engrossed in my book that he had to take a day off from work just so that he could finish reading it. Such kind of responses from my readers is extremely endearing, and it keeps me going.
I have a great deal of sympathy for reluctant readers because I was one. I would do anything to avoid reading. In my case, it wasn’t until I was 13 and discovered the ‘Lord of the Rings’ that I learned to love reading.
I love meeting readers and booksellers and am beyond overwhelmed and gratified at the reception. Each day feels like an adventure.
Writing is so fun precisely because if you take out the right adjective, the readers can decide what kind of book is in their hands. Suspension of disbelief should not be mandatory in contemporary writing.
There are many challenges I face while working on a book. Working within deadlines and schedules is certainly one of the bigger ones for me. I want to create the best possible book I can for my readers with words and pictures – and that takes time to get it just right.
I think a lot of what the iPad app is going to be used for is just reading the best content on Quora. It really helps the whole system run because people who are writing answers can get this very wide distribution to a large audience of readers.
Writing a mystery is like drawing a picture and then cutting it into little pieces that you offer to your readers one piece at a time, thus allowing them the chance to put the jigsaw puzzle together by the end of the book.
Technology is mostly a force for good, but it has its downsides, too. I want my students – and my readers – to be intelligently skeptical about technology and be informed about the good and the not-so-good parts.
Because of the nature of my brand, it’s so important our readers know it really is me behind my keyboard.
I’ll always be grateful for ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ It brought me many, many, readers.
Wherever my story takes me, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart. I know the sun will rise in the morning, that there is a light at the end of every tunnel.
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.
One thing that writers have in common is that they are readers first. They have read lots and lots of stuff, because they’re just infested with lots of stuff.
Alternative cartoonists have to rely on comic book stores to get their stuff in the hands of readers.
I sit in my little office and I feel like I’ve got all my readers staring at me.
The reality of the writer’s world is that you set yourself up for disappointment with every success that you deliver because with every success you raise your readers’ expectations.
I think it’s important that readers know that not every celebrity is a freak.
German readers are much like Brits or Americans: They read for the thrill of it, the occasional shudder down the spine, knowing it’s not real – but looking over their shoulders anyway, just in case.
Few writers in history have ever been ‘politically correct’ (a notion that rapidly changes in any case), and there’s no reason to imagine that gay writers will ever suit their readers, especially since that readership is splintered into ghettos within ghettos.
I think a lot of writers are tempted to add complexity by over-complicating things, but always remember that most natural rules/laws are, at their core, simple. Start simple, and build from there, or you risk getting yourself and your readers tangled.
When I wrote ‘The Interestings,’ I wanted to let time unspool, to give the book the feeling of time passing. I had to allow myself the freedom to move back and forth in time freely, and to trust that readers would accept this.
Without humor, I cannot go on and I doubt many of my readers would go on either. Humor is so important. I am here to have fun here with my work.
If I’m going to be a pessimist, then I should just stop writing for young people because that’s too heavy a burden to put on young readers. But also, I get to meet with people who have waded through horrible things, and they get up every morning, and they try to do their best.
There’s a village in my computer – friends, fans, readers, and colleagues. It’s a populous, sometimes chaotic little burg always bustling with news, gossip, opinions and potential excitement.
