It's not very interesting to establish sympathy for people who, on the surface, are instantly sympathetic. I guess I'm always attracted to people who, if their lives were headlines in a newspaper, you might not be very sympathetic about them. John Irving attractestablishguess share on social
My old coach used to say that if you were in it for the match, if you were in it for the trophies, you were in it for the wrong reasons. John Irving coachmatchreason Change image and share on social
I lived five years in the Midwest, and I loved it. The people were so nice. The people were so open. John Irving livelovemidwest Change image and share on social
So, I don't work in terms of real time. I don't work in a timely fashion. John Irving fashionrealterm Change image and share on social
I never wanted my kids to feel I was more interested in anything I was doing than I was in them. John Irving feelinterestkid Change image and share on social
You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. John Irving haveobsessstay Change image and share on social
And I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just spend time by myself hasn't diminished any. That's the necessary part of being a writer, you better like being alone. John Irving capacitydiminishfind Change image and share on social
One of the humbling things about having written more than one novel is the sense that every time you begin, that new empty page does not know who you are. John Irving beginemptyhumble Change image and share on social
There's a lot of ignorance about how long it takes to write a novel. There's a lot of ignorance about how long a novel is in your head before you start to write it. John Irving headignorancelong Change image and share on social
When I love a novel I've read, I want to reread it - in part, to see how it was constructed. John Irving constructhavelove Change image and share on social
