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Dan Chaon Quotes

Plot was always secondary in my mind Picture Quote #1

One of the things I rarely do is write about sex Picture Quote #1

I still think about the writers I loved when I was a kid Picture Quote #1

I’m certainly very influenced by what you would call ‘contemporary headline horror,’ stuff that is true crime or for one reason or another catches our attention in the media, those strange cases that we end up obsessing about. I’m always influenced by weird anecdotes and news Picture Quote #1

For me, the process of writing a novel happens mostly in your head before you actually start writing Picture Quote #1

Identity issues are hardwired into the way I think about character - it’s almost as if I can’t get away from them even if I want to Picture Quote #1

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I knew I wanted to play around with genre-esque imagery, and the identity theft stuff came in the middle, when I was figuring out how the characters were connected to those images Picture Quote #1

Writing about women’s sexuality is very scary for me because I’m always afraid I’ll get it wrong Picture Quote #1

The kind of person I find myself interested in is a cross between being very emotionally complex and very immature. That’s what I felt I was like when I was younger Picture Quote #1

Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they’re the building blocks of what makes a story work Picture Quote #1

You can recognize in your own reading habits what writers are doing that works and what doesn’t. I’m becoming much more aware of that after reading a decade of student stories Picture Quote #1

I know a lot of people don’t listen to music when they’re writing because it distracts them, but for me it’s almost a way to get into the self-hypnotic state that I need to be in to write Picture Quote #1

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Maybe it’s because I grew up during the MTV generation, but to me a perfect song is one I can imagine a music video to, a song that can take you into a dream Picture Quote #1

I think we’re always in some ways writing to the teachers who gave us early love Picture Quote #1

In some ways all of my fiction is like a conversation I’m having with the writers I read when I was first falling in love with books Picture Quote #1

I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out Picture Quote #1

My main reader was my wife Sheila, and I haven’t written a lot since she died Picture Quote #1

A novel requires a certain kind of world-building and also a certain kind of closure, ultimately. Whereas with a short story you have this sense that there are hinges that the reader doesn’t see Picture Quote #1

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For the last few years I’ve tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn’t sound like much but it’s actually pretty hard to manage. Because I’m not allowed to do a make-up day. I can’t do two pages the next day. The punishment for not completing my page is that I have to eat a vegetarian meal the next day Picture Quote #1

I guess I’m curious about how people process grief and how they process loss. And I’m also interested in the ways in which an event can have long-reaching consequences and a life over the course of years Picture Quote #1

I’ve had a lot of different lives. I was adopted, I grew up in Nebraska, and then I went to Northwestern... Then I had this really extraordinary, different life than my parents Picture Quote #1

Julie Orringer is the real thing, a breathtaking chronicler of the secrets and cruelties underneath the surface of middle-class American life. These are terrific stories-wise, compassionate and haunting Picture Quote #1

A lot of times in my short fiction there isn’t much dramatized scene - there are a lot of short, interconnected bits, snippets of conversation, continual action, and so on. I frequently rely pretty heavily on voice Picture Quote #1

I’ve never been able to sleep very much, even when I was a kid. I used to hate being forced to lay in bed in the darkness, and just shifting in bed and staring at the shadows Picture Quote #1

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Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they’re the building blocks of what makes a story work Picture Quote #1

I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out Picture Quote #1

In some ways all of my fiction is like a conversation I’m having with the writers I read when I was first falling in love with books Picture Quote #1

I have to admit that ‘Psychology Today’ was one of the first magazines I started reading, back when I was 13 or 14, because I was the kind of kid that was curious about the mysterious human mind - I hoped to learn about telekenisis, multiple personalities, psychosis, and various other cool and terrible things that happened inside people’s heads Picture Quote #1

In the end, there probably isn’t much difference between being in love and acting like you’re in love Picture Quote #1

I always worry that knowing too much about a novel or a story early on in writing will close it down - it feels fatalistic in some way Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

Plot was always secondary in my mind (Dan Chaon Quotes) One of the things I rarely do is write about sex (Dan Chaon Quotes) I still think about the writers I loved when I was a kid (Dan Chaon Quotes) I’m certainly very influenced by what you would call ‘contemporary headline horror,’ stuff that is true crime or for one reason or another catches our attention in the media, those strange cases that we end up obsessing about. I’m always influenced by weird anecdotes and news (Dan Chaon Quotes) For me, the process of writing a novel happens mostly in your head before you actually start writing (Dan Chaon Quotes) Identity issues are hardwired into the way I think about character - it’s almost as if I can’t get away from them even if I want to (Dan Chaon Quotes) I knew I wanted to play around with genre-esque imagery, and the identity theft stuff came in the middle, when I was figuring out how the characters were connected to those images (Dan Chaon Quotes) Writing about women’s sexuality is very scary for me because I’m always afraid I’ll get it wrong (Dan Chaon Quotes) The kind of person I find myself interested in is a cross between being very emotionally complex and very immature. That’s what I felt I was like when I was younger (Dan Chaon Quotes) Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they’re the building blocks of what makes a story work (Dan Chaon Quotes) You can recognize in your own reading habits what writers are doing that works and what doesn’t. I’m becoming much more aware of that after reading a decade of student stories (Dan Chaon Quotes) I know a lot of people don’t listen to music when they’re writing because it distracts them, but for me it’s almost a way to get into the self-hypnotic state that I need to be in to write (Dan Chaon Quotes) Maybe it’s because I grew up during the MTV generation, but to me a perfect song is one I can imagine a music video to, a song that can take you into a dream (Dan Chaon Quotes) I think we’re always in some ways writing to the teachers who gave us early love (Dan Chaon Quotes) In some ways all of my fiction is like a conversation I’m having with the writers I read when I was first falling in love with books (Dan Chaon Quotes) I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out (Dan Chaon Quotes) My main reader was my wife Sheila, and I haven’t written a lot since she died (Dan Chaon Quotes) A novel requires a certain kind of world-building and also a certain kind of closure, ultimately. Whereas with a short story you have this sense that there are hinges that the reader doesn’t see (Dan Chaon Quotes) For the last few years I’ve tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn’t sound like much but it’s actually pretty hard to manage. Because I’m not allowed to do a make-up day. I can’t do two pages the next day. The punishment for not completing my page is that I have to eat a vegetarian meal the next day (Dan Chaon Quotes) I guess I’m curious about how people process grief and how they process loss. And I’m also interested in the ways in which an event can have long-reaching consequences and a life over the course of years (Dan Chaon Quotes) I’ve had a lot of different lives. I was adopted, I grew up in Nebraska, and then I went to Northwestern... Then I had this really extraordinary, different life than my parents (Dan Chaon Quotes) Julie Orringer is the real thing, a breathtaking chronicler of the secrets and cruelties underneath the surface of middle-class American life. These are terrific stories-wise, compassionate and haunting (Dan Chaon Quotes) A lot of times in my short fiction there isn’t much dramatized scene - there are a lot of short, interconnected bits, snippets of conversation, continual action, and so on. I frequently rely pretty heavily on voice (Dan Chaon Quotes) I’ve never been able to sleep very much, even when I was a kid. I used to hate being forced to lay in bed in the darkness, and just shifting in bed and staring at the shadows. (Dan Chaon Quotes) Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they’re the building blocks of what makes a story work. (Dan Chaon Quotes) I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out. (Dan Chaon Quotes) In some ways all of my fiction is like a conversation I’m having with the writers I read when I was first falling in love with books. (Dan Chaon Quotes) I have to admit that ‘Psychology Today’ was one of the first magazines I started reading, back when I was 13 or 14, because I was the kind of kid that was curious about the mysterious human mind - I hoped to learn about telekenisis, multiple personalities, psychosis, and various other cool and terrible things that happened inside people’s heads. (Dan Chaon Quotes) In the end, there probably isn’t much difference between being in love and acting like you’re in love. (Dan Chaon Quotes) I always worry that knowing too much about a novel or a story early on in writing will close it down - it feels fatalistic in some way. (Dan Chaon Quotes)

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