John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth2 March 1942
CountryUnited States of America
real book writing
So, you see, it's a real chore for me to write a book review because it's like a contest. It's like I'm writing that book review for every bad book reviewer I've ever known and it's a way of saying [thrusts a middle finger into the air] this is how you ought to do it. I like to rub their noses in it.
church habit ministers
You don't have to be in the habit of going to church to listen to such a literary minister; you don't have to be a believer to be moved by Mr. Buechner's faith.
hurt fun writing
Be serious. Life hurts. Reflect what hurts. I don't mean that you can't also be funny, or have fun, but at the end of the day, stories are about what you lose.
live-your-life stills overview
You live your life at the time you live it -- you don't have much of an overview when what's happening to you is still happening.
scary
There's nothing as scary as the future.
waiting doe dramatic
Death, it seems," Garp wrote, "does not like to wait until we are prepared for it. Death is indulgent and enjoys, when it can, a flair for the dramatic.
art people enough
People regard art too highly, and history not enough
children parent moments
Children are most impressed with the importance of a moment when they witness a parent breaking the parents' own rule.
baby moving hands
No one but me ever put a hand on me to feel that baby. No one wanted to put his ear against it and listen...You shouldn't have a baby if there's no one who wants to feel it kick or listen to it move.
heart brain poison
My brain is sending poison to my heart.
jobs writing giving
It's my experience that very few writers, young or old, are really seeking advice when they give out their work to be read. They want support; they want someone to say, "Good job."
crazy men happy-woman
A truly happy woman drives some men and almost every other woman absolutely crazy
motivation discipline talent
My life as a writer consists of 1/8 talent and 7/8 discipline.
self use doe
This is what self-centered religion does to us: it allows us to use it to further our own ends.