John Irving Quotes
On his process for writing novels: I can't imagine what the first sentence is, I can't imagine where I want the reader to enter the story, if I don't know where the reader is going to leave the story. So once I know what the last thing the reader hears is, I can work my way backward, like following a roadmap in reverse.
Quotes to Explore
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I think studies are really important and shouldn't be compromised.
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Never stand still. Only stand still enough to learn, and once you stop learning in that stance, move off. Always keep yourself engaged, in theater, in whatever job you can get. If you can't get an acting job, then go backstage. Or take tickets. But be around actors because that is where you will primarily learn.
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Some people ask, 'How do you attract the young and so many different people when your poetry is complicated and different?' I say, 'My accomplishment is that my readers trust me and accept my suggestions for change.'
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I don't like going to the gym because I don't like being with people I don't know in that intense environment.
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The environmental movement, like all political processes, reacts best to disasters. But these are very slow, very gradual disasters in the making.
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In the search for culpability for the tragedy in Ferguson, I mostly blame politicians.
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Certainly our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters need to be supported in living out their call to holiness.
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There aren't a whole lot of things I want out of life. My bucket list is extremely short: Achieve the success in the industry I want, and get married. If I achieve both of those, I can die completely stoked. I don't need anything else.
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We cannot rest until we make sure that our families can afford to live and raise their kids here, that our seniors can remain in their homes and afford their health and pharmaceutical costs.
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Embrace the grease, if any, and look fresh and human. I like to look like a glazed doughnut.
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I don't wear plaid shirts.
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There's a big difference between being privileged and being spoilt. My parents always said, 'Spoilt means ruined, and you're not ruined, just incredibly fortunate.'
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I am fairly classless because it is very difficult to class someone who comes from a mixed marriage.
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I don't know how anyone could stop working.
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I don't know if I would call myself a religious human.
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My childhood was limited to mostly gospel music. We didn't have, like, a lot of records in our house, you know. It was like my grandparents who raised me. They were pretty old-fashioned in their religious ways, so it was like church, church, church, school, school, school.
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Girls shouldn't drink because their bodies are not made for drinking and smoking.
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I never said I wanted to be a lead actress; I never said I wanted to be a film actress. This need to trump everyone bewilders me. I'm only 25. I'm not better than anyone. I just want to watch other people and learn to be good.
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I got arrested once on stage in Memphis for looking too much like Liza Minnelli.
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You have to accept that when you don't get the part, it's to do with all sorts of reasons completely beyond your control, unless you know it's because you weren't prepared.
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I also like some of Joel Osteen's work. I think he's now doing a book about one of my favorite sermons of his, "The Power of 'I Am.' " I just love that sermon.
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To be honest, I owned one suit before I filmed 'Mad Men' - the one suit that you have to have as an adult. Outside of that, I never really felt comfortable in a suit.
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Great affection is often the cause of violent animosity. The quarrels of men often arise from too great a familiarity.
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On his process for writing novels: I can't imagine what the first sentence is, I can't imagine where I want the reader to enter the story, if I don't know where the reader is going to leave the story. So once I know what the last thing the reader hears is, I can work my way backward, like following a roadmap in reverse.
