I think there is often a 'what if' proposition that gets me thinking about all my novels. John Irving novelpropositionthink Change image and share on social
When I feel like being a director, I write a novel. John Irving directorfeelwrite Change image and share on social
More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer is rewriting. I wouldn't say I have a talent that's special. It strikes me that I have an unusual kind of stamina. John Irving halfkindlife Change image and share on social
I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the world of my imagination is a richer and more interesting place than my personal biography. John Irving biographyimaginationimagine Change image and share on social
I don't think I've had a very interesting life, and I feel that is a great liberation. That gives me great freedom as a fiction writer. Nothing that happened holds any special tyranny over me. John Irving feelfictionfreedom Change image and share on social
I get up early. I like to read a little before anyone but the dog is up. I also like to read at night, not in bed but just before I go to bed. John Irving beddogearly Change image and share on social
'Great Expectations' was an important novel in my adolescence. It was very much one of those emblematic novels that made me wish I could write like that. It helped that my models as a writer were dead over a hundred years before I began to write. John Irving adolescencebegindead share on social
I've always preferred writing in longhand. I've always written first drafts in longhand. John Irving drafthavelonghand Change image and share on social
I believe that, in any novel of mine, the principal objective is the construction of the whole. John Irving constructionmineobjective Change image and share on social
You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes. No, you have to be able to imagine something else. While you're skipping rope, you have to be able to see something else. John Irving dumbimagineminute Change image and share on social
