I quickly realised that it is difficult to get started when writing a novel. You have this dream of what you want to create, but it is like walking around a swimming pool and hesitating to jump in because the water is too cold. Patrick Modiano coldcreatedifficult share on social
At the beginning, I experienced writing as a sort of constraint. Starting so young as a writer is pitiable: it's beyond your powers; you have to lay bare things that are very heavy, and you don't have the means for that. Patrick Modiano barebeginconstraint share on social
I write in the most classical French because this form is necessary for my novels: to translate the murky, floating, unsettling atmosphere I wanted them to have, I had to discipline it into the clearest, most traditional language possible. Patrick Modiano atmosphereclassicalclear share on social
For a long time, I've had a recurring dream - I dream I don't have to write any more, that I'm free. I'm not free, alas; I'm still clearing the same terrain, with the impression that it's never finished. Patrick Modiano alacleardream share on social
Because I find writing painful, I try to get it over with as fast as possible. But I write every day, or I lose the thread. Patrick Modiano dayfastfind Change image and share on social
I've always had the wish, the nostalgia to be able to write detective novels. At heart, the principal themes of detective novels are close to the things that obsess me: disappearance, the problems of identity, amnesia, the return to an enigmatic past. Patrick Modiano amnesiaclosedetective share on social
Really, I prefer not to read my early books. Not that I don't like them, but I don't recognize myself anymore, like an old actor watching himself as a young leading man. Patrick Modiano actoranymorebook Change image and share on social
A novelist can never be his own reader, except when he is ridding his manuscript of syntax errors, repetitions, or the occasional superfluous paragraph. Patrick Modiano errormanuscriptnovelist Change image and share on social
Recently, I looked back at my first manuscripts and was struck by the lack of space, of breath. That's exactly how it felt, back then... like I was suffocating. Patrick Modiano backbreathfelt Change image and share on social
As a writer, one is always a little blind to what one writes. Patrick Modiano blindwritewriter Change image and share on social
