- Good
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
Character Quotes
Character shows up in fiction, politics and physics.
"Character" is used two distinct ways in this collection — as a literary term about how a fictional character carries moral weight, and as a description of personal integrity tied to one's politics and work. For traits and personality more broadly, see Personality quotes.
- Last Updated on May 30, 2021
- Boring
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
You start thinking about a character in a new book, of course you're going to think pretty soon, 'Well, what's their secret? What is their problem?' Maybe, 'What is their secret?' is another way of saying, 'What is their problem?' There's got to be some issue, or you've got a totally boring book!
- Money
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
When a story is flying along, and I'm so into it that my 'real' world goes away, it can feel magical. I cease to be, my desk and computer ceases to be, and I am my character in his world. Psychologists call this a 'flow state,' and it's better than publication, money, awards, fame.
- Focus
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
Your opening should give the reader a person to focus on. In a short story, this person should turn up almost immediately; he should be integral to the story's main action; he should be an individual, not just a type. In a novel, the main character may take longer to appear: Anna Karenina doesn't show up in her own novel until chapter eighteen.
- Complex Character
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
Pace, like everything else in writing, involves a trade-off. If you're not offering the reader a lot of action to keep her interested, you must offer something else in its stead. Slow pace is ideal for complex character development, detailed description, and nuances of style.
- May
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
A brief short story may require only a few paragraphs after the climax. On the other hand, in his massive novel 'The World According to Garp,' John Irving's denouement consisted of 10 separate sections, each devoted to an individual character's fate and each almost a story in itself.
- Funny
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
Movies don't look hard, but figuring it out, getting the shape of it, getting everybody's character right and having it be funny, make sense and be romantic, it's creating a puzzle. Yes, having been a writer for so long, I have an awareness of when things are going awry, but it doesn't mean I know how to fix them.
- Committing
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
When I was growing up as a young lesbian in the '50s, I looked in vain for books about my people. I did find some paperbacks with lurid covers in the local bus station, but they ended with the gay character's committing suicide, dying in a car crash, being sent to a mental hospital, or 'turning' heterosexual.
- I Am
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
Had I not gone through the struggles and the obstacles I had, I would not be as strong as I am today. I believe those impediments have forged, shaped, and strengthened my character.
- Politics
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
My character and my behavior is not for politics. I say what I think. I'm too liberal.
- Always
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
I always give much attention to military character and to psychological and morale conditions.
- Nov 07, 2020
The happiest ones are those who have a character which would prefer their services to be unknown to all generations.
- Past
- |
- Nov 07, 2020
My message to everyone is that we truly are one, and the minute you see me as the person, not just as the Muslim - when you see me as Adeel Alam and not just the character on TV - when you see past all of that, we are all the same, and we are all just one.
- People
- |
- Nov 07, 2020