Top 871 Quotes & Sayings by Nicholas Sparks

Loving once and only once is possible - anything is possible.

Publishing is a business. Writing may be art, but publishing, when all is said and done, comes down to dollars.

All characters come from people I know, but after the initial inspiration, I tend to modify the characters so they fit with the story.

By reading a lot of novels in a variety of genres, and asking questions, it's possible to learn how things are done - the mechanics of writing, so to speak - and which genres and authors excel in various areas.

I think that men know how to romance a woman and most do it well, at least for a time, otherwise women wouldn't marry them. The problem is that most of them begin to rest on their laurels.

I'll admit that it's not easy to get an agent, but becoming successful in anything requires perseverance.

None of my characters are rich or famous, and the situations they find themselves in could happen to anyone.

There's always pressure, a great deal of pressure, when writing, since my first books were so successful.

Spreading the news is your duty as a Christian, and there are many ways to do this.

Rekindled love is generally short-term.

I suppose more than anything, it's the way of life in this part of the country that influences my writing. In Eastern North Carolina, with the exception of Wilmington, most people live in small towns.

I have certain moral parameters that I do not cross in writing; I don't write about adultery or kids having premarital sex.

I suppose I'm most influenced by any good, commercial writer. I learn from everyone.

I have a great wife and it's very easy to be romantic because it makes her happy and then my life is so much better when she's happy.

Above all, a query letter is a sales pitch and it is the single most important page an unpublished writer will ever write. It's the first impression and will either open the door or close it. It's that important, so don't mess it up. Mine took 17 drafts and two weeks to write.

The first thing I did when I sold my book was buy a new wedding ring for my wife and asked her to marry me all over again.

I think that enduring, committed love between a married couple, along with raising children, is the most noble act anyone can aspire to. It is not written about very much.

I'm writing a new love story, set in eastern North Carolina. Surprise, surprise, huh?

I would be rejected if I submitted any of my novels as romance novels.

If you look for me, I'm in the fiction section. Romance has its own section.

Focus in on the genre you want to write, and read books in that genre. A LOT of books by a variety of authors. And read with questions in your mind.

To be quite honest, I've been very blessed when I've worked with Hollywood. The studios that have purchased my work to be adapted to film have really liked the work and wanted to stay as close as they could to what the book was.

A typical agent in New York gets 400 query letters a month. Of those, they might ask to read 3-4 manuscripts, and of those, they might ask to represent 1.

I do not use profanity in my novels. My characters all go to church.

In all love stories the theme is love and tragedy, so by writing these types of stories, I have to include tragedy.

Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It's one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period.

I write 2,000 words a day when I write. It sometimes takes three hours, it sometimes takes five hours.

I think, above all, the characters in my novels feel universal to the readers.

What's the challenge in writing a novel that few people will read? I'm more than happy writing what I do and have no plans to change that.

I very seldom, very seldom, even know what my characters look like.

I read over a hundred books a year and have done so since I was fifteen years old, and every book I've read has taught me something.

I don't know that love changes. People change. Circumstances change.

Over time, quality work will lead to an audience for your work.

Because publishing is becoming more business-oriented each day with more examination of the bottom line, it's harder to break out than ever.

Dramatic fiction - William Shakespeare made his biggest mark writing dramatic love stories.

My wife, my family, my friends - they've all taught me things about love and what that emotion really means. In a nutshell, loving someone is about giving, not receiving.

Romance is thinking about your significant other, when you are supposed to be thinking about something else.

I don't write romance novels.

You're going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it's always their actions you should judge them by. It's actions, not words, that matter.

If it’s over, then don’t let the past screw up the rest of your life.

I dont think that we're meant to understand it all the time. I think that sometimes we just have to have faith.

It's the possibility that keeps me going, not the guarantee.

You know, the smallest thing can change a life. In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance - and when you least expect it - since we’re on a course that you could have never planned, into a future you never imagined. Where will it take you? That’s the journey of our lives: our search for the light. But sometimes, finding the light means you must past through the deepest darkness.

Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy, thank you for loving me and receiving my love in return. Thank you for the memories I will cherish forever. But most of all, thank you for showing me that there will come a time when I can eventually let you go.

They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even when you don't know it

I want to wake up with you beside me in the mornings. I want to spend my evenings looking at you across the dinner table. I want to share every mundane detail of my day with you and hear every detail of yours. I want to laugh with you and fall asleep with you in my arms.

I mean, if the relationship can't survive the long term, why on earth would it be worth my time and energy for the short term?

Nothing that’s worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that.

You might not believe it...but you make the world a better place when you smile.

It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on.

Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again you must learn to trust again.

How can I describe how much I love you? Is it even possible to describe a love like that? I don’t know, but as I sit here with pen in hand, I know that I have to try.

Loving someone and having them love you back is the most precious thing in the world.

The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. Maybe they always have been and will be. Maybe we've lived a thousand lives before this one and in each of them we've found each other. And maybe each time, we've been forced apart for the same reasons. That means that this goodbye is both a goodbye for the past ten thousand years and a prelude to what will come.

I love you more than there are stars in the sky and fish in the sea.

What mattered most was knowing that love was mine to give, without strings or expectations.

The scariest thing about distance is that you don’t know whether they’ll miss you or forget you.

In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance - when you least expect it - sets you on a course that you never planned, into a future you never imagined.

Being around someone who accepts and supports you will remind you to accept and support yourself.

In our time together, you claimed a special place in my heart, one I'll carry with me forever and that no one can ever replace.