Wallace Stegner Quotes
The flimsy little protestations that mark the front gate of every novel, the solemn statements that any resemblance to real persons living or dead is entirely coincidental, are fraudulent every time. A writer has no other material to make his people from than the people of his experience ... The only thing the writer can do is to recombine parts, suppress some characterisitics and emphasize others, put two or three people into one fictional character, and pray the real-life prototypes won't sue.
Quotes to Explore
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Infinite striving to be the best is man's duty; it is its own reward. Everything else is in God's hands.
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As I lay so sick on my bed, from Christmas till March, I was always praying for poor ole master. 'Pears like I didn't do nothing but pray for ole master. 'Oh, Lord, convert ole master;' 'Oh, dear Lord, change dat man's heart, and make him a Christian.'
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The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth.
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I have always thought if there is a game, and there have been a lot of fouls on me, then I have been playing well for the team, so that means we're having a good match. You can win a free-kick when there's a foul, and that's a chance to score a goal.
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My daughter said, 'I don't think granddad really suits you.'
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Thirteen years I took on this last book.
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I never sold any of my pieces. I had all the money I wanted. Then I would have lost my sculptures and just had more money.
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I find that once you start helping others, it makes you feel better about yourself. It helps you figure out what you want to do with your own life.
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My parents did everything possible. My dad has worked from eight in the morning until nine in the evening to make it possible so I can play tennis. We had to cancel tournaments because we couldn't afford to go there.
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In some theoretical way I know that a half-million people hear the show. But in a day-to-day way, there's not much evidence of it.
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For me, I always like to get up bright and early.
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It means a lot when people understand what I'm going for.
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I start to wonder if I’m being creepy. I mean, I am creeping. Does creep-ing automatically make one creep-y? Or are there dispensations for…romance? I bet all stalkers believe they’re being romantic. I did it for love, officer.
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The true direction of the development of thinking is not from the individual to the social, but from the social to the individual.
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'Singin' in the Rain' was the one for me. Yeah. I mean, Gene Kelly could just sway and never fall. He'd just sway and sway as he danced.
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Acting keeps me alert to people, and life. I don't know, there's something about going to work early in the morning, and having to stay alert and concentrated. Maybe that keeps your mind alive.
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Vienna is the gate to Eastern Europe.
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The most beautiful novel is the one that starts with a sentence wholly unexpected by the reader who has lived through our storms and norms, and who might once have been the cause of our changing moods.
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So many people have the TV or radio constantly turned on “for company,” or spend their time reading trashy novels, aimlessly surfing the Net, and so on. Then suddenly one day you are old or sick and you realize you have done nothing with your life. All your thoughts are other people's thoughts and you have no idea who you really are or what the purpose of your life might be.
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The flimsy little protestations that mark the front gate of every novel, the solemn statements that any resemblance to real persons living or dead is entirely coincidental, are fraudulent every time. A writer has no other material to make his people from than the people of his experience ... The only thing the writer can do is to recombine parts, suppress some characterisitics and emphasize others, put two or three people into one fictional character, and pray the real-life prototypes won't sue.
