I'm constantly trying to figure out how to crack that mystery; how to make a novel that has … - Peter Orner

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Quote of the day

Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read.

Peter Orner

I'm constantly trying to figure out how to crack that mystery; how to make a novel that has a sense of immediacy of a short story. I try to do that and I'll try it again, but I'll never get it.

Figure, Mystery, Novel, Sense, Story, Trying

Same Author Quotes

What you can do with a short story that you can't do with a novel is punch someone in the gut, in the best of ways.

Gut, Guts, Novel, Short Story, Story

My first book came out again - the re-issue from 2001. I was rereading it to make sure that I didn't miss any mistakes, and I didn't know who had written some of these stories. I really didn't. I am a different person now. It's weird. I think if stories are good, they have to have a life of their own that's independent of the writer. I like to think of my characters out there in other peoples' heads. That's a nice thing to think about.

2001, Book, Independent, Mistake, Nice, Writer

Maybe my work is somewhat divided into family stories, things I know intimately, and then everybody else in the world - the strangers who I am totally fascinated with.

Everybody, Family, Know, Somewhat, Stranger, World

A collection, for me, is a book of very diverse stories that somehow speak to each other, across wide geography, across time, years, decades.

Book, Collection, Decades, Stories, Years

I beat a story to within an inch of its life - that's when I know its done. Not before, not after.

Beats, Done, Inch, Know, Stories, Story