A Quote by John Irving

I begin with an interest in a relationship, a situation, a character.

John Irving

Quote Topics

Begin Character Interest Relationship Situation

Quote Author

John Irving
American - Novelist
Born: March 2, 1942

You don't want to be ungenerous toward people who give you prizes, but it is never the social or political message that interests me in a novel. I begin with an interest in a relationship, a situation, a character.

John Irving

The human interest, and the natural interest, and the spiritual interest of this planet need to begin to take a priority over the corporate interest, the military interest, and the materialistic interests.

Michael Franti

For me, character comes from a specific condition or situation. I cannot really define a character outside that situation.

Asghar Farhadi

Russia has a common interest in confronting radical Islamic terrorism and especially ISIS. And if we have opportunities to work together I think President Trump is looking for an opportunity to begin that relationship anew.

Mike Pence

Even when I begin with a situation that's basically funny or sad, I like to keep poking around in it. I like to get into the middle of a relationship, to explore the subtle places.

Paul Mazursky

I like to watch and perform the kind of comedy that comes out of the situation - where the character is really serious and in a tough situation and doesn't realize that the situation is comic.

Judge Reinhold

If you do not have an alert and curious interest in character and dramatic situation, if you have no visual imagination and are unable to distinguish between honest emotional reactions and sentimental approaches to life, you will never write a competent short story.

Edward Joseph Harrington O'Brien

It does not matter what your circumstances are; the instant you begin to thank God, even though your situation has not changed, you begin to change. The key that unlocks the gates of heaven is a thankful heart. Entrance into the courts of God comes as you simply begin to praise the Lord.

Francis Frangipane

The place to begin building any relationship is inside ourselves, inside our circle of influence, our own character.

Stephen Covey

Thinking is the place where intelligent actions begin. We pause long enough to look more carefully at a situation, to see more of its character, to think about why it's happening, to notice how it's affecting us and others

Margaret J. Wheatley

My stories often begin with a situation or character rather than an insight about the human condition. It's always been difficult for me to write from an abstract idea, no matter how interesting or compelling I feel the idea might be.

Karl Iagnemma

I'll tell you the secret. When you begin with a character, you want to begin by creating a villain.

Dorothy Allison

I've definitely been in that situation many times - staying in a relationship longer than I should. I think there's so much of your identity that comes from a relationship.

Caroline Polachek

Place three individuals in a situation wherein the interest of each depends on the voice of the others, and give to two of them an interest opposed to the rights of the third. Will the latter be secure? The prudence of every man would shun the danger. The rules & forms of justice suppose & guard against it. Will two thousand in a like situation be less likely to encroach on the rights of one thousand?

James Madison

It's often hard to determine, especially in early drafts, whether or not a story has a bona fide complication. Remember this: A complication must either illuminate, thwart, or alter what the character wants. A good complication puts emotional pressure on a character, promoting that character not only to act, but to act with purpose.If the circumstance does none of these things, then it's not a complication at all - it's a situation. This situation, or setup, might be interesting or even astonishing, but it gives the story no point of departure.

Monica Wood

A Quote by John Irving

Quote Topics

Quote Author

Related Quotes

Related Authors