My books never go where I think they're going.
Interpretation
The author's writing journey often takes unexpected turns, revealing deeper insights than initially planned.
In this quote, Khaled Hosseini expresses the unpredictable nature of the creative process. When writing, he discovers that his thoughts and narratives evolve in ways he did not anticipate, leading to richer and more profound stories than he initially envisioned. This highlights the organic nature of storytelling, where characters and plot developments can take on lives of their own.
In practice
During a writing workshop, I used this quote to explain how unpredictable the writing process can be.
You're gutless. It's how you were made. And that's not such a bad thing because your saving grace is that you've never lied to yourself about it. Not about that. Nothing wrong with cowardice as long as it comes with prudence. But when a coward stops remembering who he is... God help him.
There was brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that even time could not break. - Amir
I don't outline at all; I don't find it useful, and I don't like the way it boxes me in. I like the element of surprise and spontaneity, of letting the story find its own way.
And that's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.
Perspective [is] a luxury when your head [is] constantly buzzing with a swarm of demons.
The desert weed lives on, but the flower of spring blooms and wilts.
Not every novel that wants to be a tragedy gets to be one.
Put simply the novel stands between us and the hardening concept of statistical man. There is no other medium in which we can live for so long and so intimately with a character. That is the service a novel renders.
Literature is an investment of genius which pays dividends to all subsequent times.
The short story is still like the novel's wayward younger brother, we know that it's not respectable - but I think that can also add to the glory of it.
And now may the blessing of God rest upon all men. I have told unto them the Epic of Kings, and the Epic of Kings is come to a close, and the tale of their deeds is ended.
I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everybody involved.
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