A Quote by Jonathan Lethem

I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write the book straight through from beginning to end. By following time's arrow, I keep myself sane.

Jonathan Lethem

Quote Topics

Arrow Beginning Book Direction End Following Keep Move Myself One Direction Only Rule Sane Simple Straight Through Time Write

Quote Author

Jonathan Lethem
American - Novelist
Born: February 19, 1964

I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write the book straight through from beginning to end. By following time's arrow I keep myself sane.

Jonathan Lethem

When I set out to write a screenplay, I have in my mind a beginning and an end but that end part continually changes as I start to write the middle. That way by the time the screenplay is finished I have taken myself and my audience from a familiar beginning point through the story to an unfamiliar ending point.

Christian Keiber

What differentiates time from space is that time does have a direction. In that sense it is different from space. I think that's certainly true that whereas spatial dimensions don't have direction or an arrow, time does. It runs from past to future. But I see that arrow of time as rooted in a deeper metaphysical reality, namely the reality of temporal becoming - of things coming to be and passing away. That is why time has this arrow. But it's not sufficient to simply say that time and space are distinct because time has a direction. The question will be: why does it have a direction?

William Lane Craig

I write for myself; I'm trying to keep myself interested in the music. But at the same time, I want to make the songs relatable in a way; I want to keep melodies pretty simple and the lyrics open-ended so that people could maybe relate them to their own life in different ways. Something for everybody to have a piece of.

Mac DeMarco

At a certain point in the writing of any book, you become absolutely certain that it's terrible and is only getting more terrible with every word you write. This is normal. You just have to keep going, push your way through, and have faith that, through practice and experience and determination, you will get to the end.

Greg van Eekhout

Keep a diary, but don't just list all the things you did during the day. Pick one incident and write it up as a brief vignette. Give it color, include quotes and dialogue, shape it like a story with a beginning, middle and end—as if it were a short story or an episode in a novel. It's great practice. Do this while figuring out what you want to write a book about. The book may even emerge from within this running diary.

John Berendt

At the end of the day, the only thing I can do is keep working on it, keep giving myself chances, and it's going to happen.

Sergio Garcia

If I can keep losing myself - and finding parts of myself - in other people's writing and direction, then that's all I can really ask for. That's all I want, to keep losing myself.

Andrew Garfield

You're going to write straight and simple and good now. That's the start.''What if I'm not straight and simple and good? Do you think I can write that way?''Write how you are but make it straight.

Ernest Hemingway

When you think you're going through hell, keep going. The only way out, keep going. If you're going through hell you've got to keep going. You can't stop or that's where you're gonna end up.

Rush Limbaugh

Oh yeah, I mean, it wasn't a very good guitar, most good guitars have got thrust rods in the necks that you can adjust or that'll keep them in shape, you know keep them straight. This one just, well it turned into a bow and arrow after a couple of months.

Eric Clapton

Being under-recruited coming out of Highland, I've carried that with me. I keep pushing forward, keep working hard every day, keep my head on straight every step of the way. I tried to keep the reality hat on, knowing I might not get to the NFL, but I also knew it was a great possibility if I kept myself hungry.

Mike Daniels

I always knew from the beginning that this was the only way to write Then We Came To The End - that it had to be in first - person plural if it was going to illustrate how the individual becomes part of the collective. I had no interest in writing the book in a more conventional voice. It goes back to that fascination I had with telling a story in multiple ways. It was the only choice I gave myself, really - I said "This is it, pal. If you can't tell a story this way, you're going to have to abandon the book. Write it this way or give up."

Joshua Ferris

Simple formula for the actor: prove you're creative enough to get the job, sane enough to keep the job, and hungry enough to give up everything else to keep them happy.

Brooke Langton

It's always a better choice to write a new book than it is to keep pounding your head against the submissions wall with a book that's just not happening. The next book you write could be the book, the one that isn't a fight to get representation for at all.