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Ethan Canin Quotes


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Quotes by Ethan Canin

Showing 71-80 of 85 Quotes by Ethan Canin

The Internet is changing American fiction - and I don't mean in some kind of metaphysical way.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: American Changing Fiction Internet Kind Mean Metaphysical Some Way

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I think one of the things that is essential for happiness in life, or at least for non-sadness, is producing something. I guess that's why I spend so much time and agony writing books. But working on carpentry is sort of like all the pleasure with none of the agony.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: Agony Books Carpentry Essential Guess Happiness Least Life Like Much None One Of The Things Pleasure Producing So Much Time Something Sort Spend Things Think Time Why Working Writing I Think

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I'm becoming more of a novelist as I get older. The novel just seems the truer form. There's less artifice involved.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: Artifice Becoming Form Get Involved Just Less More Novel Novelist Older Seems Truer

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I started out writing stories because that's all I wanted to read, but now I don't know if I'll ever write one again.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: Again Because Ever Know Now Out Read Started Stories Wanted Write Writing

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A ten- or twelve-page story seems too easy, which is a funny thing to say considering that writing a decent short story is devastatingly difficult. Yet it still seems easier than a novel. You can turn a short story on a single good line - ten pages of decent writing and one good moment.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: Considering Decent Difficult Easier Easy Funny Funny Thing Good Line Moment Novel Pages Say Seems Short Short Story Single Still Story Ten Than Thing Too Turn Which Writing You

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The short story can't really hold an interesting event. It can't hold a death or a war or a loss of great magnitude the way either a long story or a novel can.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: Death Either Event Great Hold Interesting Long Loss Magnitude Novel Really Short Short Story Story War Way

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You don't idea your way into a plot but plot your way into an idea.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: Idea Plot Way You Your

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The only successful way to write, and the only one I have found, is to be the character. Give up on trying to control them. Writers always talk about hearing voices. That's what they mean.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: About Always Character Control Found Give Hearing Mean Only Successful Talk Them Trying Up Voices Way Write Writers

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My idea of teaching literature is just to read great passages aloud or to look at it the way a writer does, which is what I try to do. Which is to say, 'How does this writer do this? How did he order his scenes? Do you notice any pattern to his sentences?'

~Ethan Canin

Topics: Aloud Any Did Does Great He His How Idea Just Literature Look Notice Order Passages Pattern Read Say Scenes Sentences Teaching Try Way Which Writer You

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I teach a 14-week semester, and one of the things I do when I have to teach literature is, for the first half hour of the class, I have the students write the beginning of a new story every week. At the end of the semester, even if they have learned nothing about literature, at least they'll have 14 beginnings that they can take with them.

~Ethan Canin

Topics: About Beginning Beginnings Class End Even Every First Half Hour Learned Least Literature New Nothing One Of The Things Semester Story Students Take Teach Them Things Week Write

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Biography

Nationality: American

Type: Author

Born: July 19th, 1960

Links

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