I'm glad I wrote them when I did because I think if I were to write my first novel now, it would be a different book, and it may not be the book that everybody wants to read. But if I were given a red pen now, and I went back... I'd take that thing apart.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the author's evolving perspective on his work and the nature of creativity.
Khaled Hosseini expresses a sense of satisfaction with his earlier writing, acknowledging that with the benefit of hindsight, he would approach it differently today. His statement highlights the evolution of an artist's vision and the tension between past creations and current standards, suggesting that while he may critique his earlier work, it carries intrinsic value for both himself and his audience.
In practice
This quote could be used during a writing workshop to illustrate the importance of evolving as an artist.
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.
People ask me: ‘What is punk? How do you define punk?' Here's how I define punk: It's a free space. It could be called jazz. It could be called hip-hop. It could be called blues, or rock, or beat. It could be called techno. It's just a new idea. For me, it was punk rock. That was my entrance to this idea of the new ideas being able to be presented in an environment that wasn't being dictated by a profit motive.
Gardening is how I relax. It's another form of creating and playing with colors.
I love to see actors' work. I love to surf channels late at night and accidentally run into movies I hadn't seen before. It makes me very proud of the profession.
I am seeking that dance which might be the divine expression of the human spirit through the medium of the body's movement.
My hope is that we continue to nurture the places that we love, but that we also look outside our immediate worlds.
We are all affected by Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, and Mies van der Rohe. But no less than Bramante, Borromini, and Bernini. Architecture is a tradition, a long continuum. Whether we break with tradition or enhance it, we are still connected to that past. We evolve.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.