Richard Russo Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“People in small towns, much more than in cities, share a destiny.”

“I have to have a character worth caring about. I tend not to start writing books about people I don't have a lot of sympathy for because I'm just going to be with them too long.”

“I don't think there's a shortage of material in the world. Or in my head. I just pray for continued good health, because I've got other stories to tell.”

“I looked back at some of my earlier published stories with genuine horror and remorse. I got thinking, How many extant copies might there be, who owns them, and do they keep their doors locked?”

“At the risk of appearing disingenuous, I don't really think of myself as 'writing humor.' I'm simply reporting on the world I observe, which is frequently hilarious.”

“By ignoring a lot of American culture you can write more interesting stories. Unfortunately, if you were writing about America as it is, you'd be writing about a lot of people sitting in front of television sets.”

“Movies have to handle time very efficiently. They're about stringing scenes together in the present. Novels aren't necessarily about that.”

“I suppose all writers worry about the well running dry.”

“I think the darker aspect of my fiction-or anybody's fiction-is by its very nature somehow easier to talk about.”

“I want that which is hilarious and that which is heartbreaking to occupy the same territory in the book because I think they very often occupy the same territory in life, much as we try to separate them.”