If you presume to love something, you must love the process of it much more than you love the finished product. John Irving finishlovepresume Change image and share on social
I find screenplays easy to write, my novels being very visual. You see what people look like. The physical action is described. John Irving actioneasyfind Change image and share on social
I'm not a twentieth-century novelist, I'm not modern, and certainly not postmodern. I follow the form of the nineteenth-century novel; that was the century that produced the models of the form. I'm old-fashioned, a storyteller. I'm not an analyst, and I'm not an intellectual. John Irving analystcenturyfashion 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
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
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
I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I have nothing but sympathy for how people behave - and nothing but laughter to console them with. John Irving behaveconsolefact Change image and share on social
You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. John Irving haveobsessstay Change image and share on social
The principal event of my childhood was that no adult in my family would tell me who my father was. John Irving adultchildhoodevent Change image and share on social
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
