I mean, every novel's a historical novel anyway. But calling something a historical novel seems to put mittens on it, right? It puts manners on it. And you don't want your novels to be mannered.
Colum MccannRead
She likes the people with the endurance to tolerate the drudge, the ones who know that pain is a requirement, not a curse.
Interpretation
Endurance through hardship is essential for growth and understanding.
This quote suggests that appreciating the process of enduring challenges is vital for personal development. It highlights that pain and struggle are not just obstacles, but necessary experiences that shape our character and resilience.
In practice
In a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles.
I mean, every novel's a historical novel anyway. But calling something a historical novel seems to put mittens on it, right? It puts manners on it. And you don't want your novels to be mannered.
Goodness was more difficult than evil. Evil men knew that more than good men. That's why they became evil. That's why it stuck with them. Evil was for those who could never reach the truth. It was a mask for stupidity and lack of love. Even if people laughed at the notion of goodness, if they found it sentimental, or nostalgic, it didn't matter -- it was none of those things, he said, and it had to be fought for.
She takes another long haul, lets the smoke settle in her lungs-- she has heard somewhere that cigarettes are good for grief. One long drag and you forget how to cry. The body too busy dealing with the poison.
It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.
It struck me that distant cities are designed precisely so you can know where you came from.
And I suddenly think, as I look across the table at him, that these are the days as they will be. This is the future as we see it. The swerve and the static. The confidence and the doubt.
Security isn't what the wise person looks for - it's opportunity.
Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.
The belief that youth is the happiest time of life is founded on fallacy. The happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts, and we grow happier as we grow older.
Every soul confined in a prison of sin, guilt, or perversion has a key to the gate. The key is labeled βrepentance.β If you know how to use this key, the adversary cannot hold you.
I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it
The experienced writer says to the anguished novice: 'Just do it; get something, anything, on to the screen or page, just establish a flow of words, and criticise them later.' You give this advice but can't always take it.
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