Canadian - Author | November 7, 1954 -
We are all shaped by where we grow up, though that shaping takes different forms. I don't think there's any doubt that coming of age in Winnipeg both opened my eyes and made me hungry - if I can subvert all claims to be a real writer by mixing metaphors like that.
Guy Gavriel Kay
AgeEyesMeThinkGrowDoubt
In general, the main themes emerge early for each book, even before the storyline and characters, as I research the time and place I want to draw upon. Having said that, every single book so far has offered me surprises en route, and these include motifs that come forward as I am writing.
TimeI AmMeResearchWritingBook
I'm still proud of the 'Fionavar Tapestry.' The fact I don't write the same way is as much as anything else the fact a man in his 50s doesn't write the way a man in his 20s does - or he shouldn't.
ManProudWayWriteSameAnything
After a while, you start to realize that you should write a book you would want to read. I try to write a book I would enjoy.
StartBookEnjoyYouWantTry
The very best way I can make any reader believe in the nuts and bolts of an art form... is to know the mechanics, to make the characters grounded in convincing detail.
ArtBestDetailBelieveI CanKnow
My privacy concerns have to do with the world, other people, technology intruding upon us - what Talmudic scholars once called 'the unwanted gaze.' Here I see major issues and concerns as society evolves, and I've written often on the subject.
TechnologyPeopleWorldSocietySee
When I was 18 years old, in a more innocent time, my first backpacking trip through Europe, I sneaked into the Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum after nightfall and spent several hours in there avoiding the guards patrolling.
TimeInnocentTempleMoreOldFirst
Liu Fang is a truly gifted, world-famous player of the pipa and the guzheng, classical Chinese stringed instruments.
GiftedPlayerChineseFangTruly
Writing is never, ever easy but I wake up every morning grateful for the gift of being able to do this.
MorningGratefulWritingWake UpUp
I had been obsessed with the Arthurian legends all my life, and I knew that that would work its way into any trilogy I wrote. I was fascinated by the Eddas, the Norse and Icelandic legends, Odin on the world tree.
LifeWorkTreeWorldMy LifeWay
I'm happier not pretending I know anything about El Cid in Spain. He's a Spanish national hero. I'd rather invent a character inspired by him but clearly not identical to him. And then I feel liberated creatively.
CharacterHeroFeelKnowAnything
As many have noted, the peril for authors is that our work space is too easily our play space.
WorkSpacePlayOurPerilMany
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Guy Gavriel Kay quotes