Self pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.
John GardnerRead
Fiction does not spring into the world fully grown, like Athena. It is the process of writing and rewriting that makes a fiction original, if not profound.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fiction is created through a continuous process of writing and revision, rather than emerging instantly.
John Gardner emphasizes that fiction is not a spontaneous creation but rather a product of careful crafting and refinement. This quote highlights the importance of the effort involved in writing, suggesting that originality and depth in literature are achieved through dedication and a willingness to revise one's work.
Themes
FictionCreativityWritingRevisionOriginality
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to inspire students about the importance of editing.
More from John Gardner
All quotes βi understand that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. i understood that, finally and absolutely, i alone exist. all the rest, i saw, is merely what pushes me, or what i push against, blindly - as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. i create the whole universe, blink by blink.
John GardnerRead
...ultimately it come down to, are you making or are you destroying? If you try very hard to create ways of living, create dreams of what is possible, then you win. If you don't, you may make a fortune in ten years, but you're not going to be read in twenty years, and that's that.
John GardnerRead
We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget that we are reading printed words on a page; we begin to see images.
John GardnerRead
They watch on, evil, incredibly stupid, enjoying my destruction. 'Poor Grendel's had an accident,' I whisper. 'So may you all.
John GardnerRead
The true artist plays mad with his soul, labors at the very lip of the volcano, but remembers and clings to his purpose, which is as strong as the dream. He is not someone possessed, like Cassandra, but a passionate, easily tempted explorer who fully intends to get home again, like Odysseus.
John GardnerRead
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I occasionally play works by contemporary composers and for two reasons. First to discourage the composer from writing any more and secondly to remind myself how much I appreciate Beethoven.
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