As to the number of novels I've abandoned... I shudder to think. I have thrown away five completed novels, and that's a gruesome enough figure. But not necessarily a waste of effort.
Mark HaddonRead
Writing for children is bloody difficult; books for children are as complex as their adult counterparts, and they should therefore be accorded the same respect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing for children is challenging and requires the same level of respect as writing for adults.
In this quote, Mark Haddon emphasizes the complexity involved in writing children's literature, arguing that it requires skill and depth similar to that of adult books. He advocates for recognizing children's books as serious works that deserve respect, highlighting the notion that children's literature should not be underestimated or simplified compared to literature intended for adults.
Themes
WritingChildrenLiteratureRespectComplexity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a literary festival, an author might use this quote to emphasize the importance of children's literature.
More from Mark Haddon
All quotes →At twenty life was like wrestling an octopus. Every moment mattered. At thirty it was a walk in the country. Most of the time your mind was somewhere else. By the time you got to seventy, it was probably like watching snooker on the telly.
Mark HaddonRead
And Father said, "Christopher, do you understand that I love you?" And I said "Yes," because loving someone is helping them when they get into trouble, and looking after them, and telling them the truth, and Father looks after me when I get into trouble, like coming to the police station, and he looks after me by cooking meals for me, and he always tells me the truth, which means that he loves me.
Mark HaddonRead
From a good book, I want to be taken to the very edge. I want a glimpse into that outer darkness.
Mark HaddonRead
And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything.
Mark HaddonRead
At 20, 25, 30, we begin to realise that the possibilities of escape are getting fewer. We have jobs, children, partners, debts. This is the part of us to which literary fiction speaks.
Mark HaddonRead
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Let not a single day pass without your learning a verse, half a verse, or a fourth of it, or even one letter of it; nor without attending to charity, study and other pious activity.
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I can't add. I don't understand basic science. Or anything else. But I can read anything. I've always been able to, and I've always liked to. Even if I didn't understand it, I liked to.
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Good teaching must be slow enough so that it is not confusing, and fast enough so that it is not boring.
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The old lessons (work, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, fighting to achieve) aren't being taught by many people other than football coaches these days. The football coach has a captive audience and can teach these lessons because the communication lines between himself and his players are more wide open than between kids and parents. We better teach these lessons or else the country's future population will be made up of a majority of crooks, drug addicts, or people on relief.
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If your writing doesn`t keep you up at night, it won`t keep anyone else up either".
James M. CainRead