At its best, fiction is not a diversion but a means of knowing the world. Charles Baxter More Quotes by Charles Baxter More Quotes From Charles Baxter When you’re in love you don’t have to do a damn thing. You can just be. You can just stay quiet in the world. You don’t have to move an inch. Charles Baxter love-you world moving As my mother once said to me, ‘They’re quite crazy, dear – men are. What you look for is one of them whose insanity is large enough, and calm and generous enough, to include you. Charles Baxter crazy mother men In February, the overcast sky isn’t gloomy so much as neutral and vague. It’s a significant factor in the common experience of depression among the locals. The snow crunches under your boots and clings to your trousers, to the cuffs, and once you’re inside, the snow clings to you psyche, and eventually you have to go to the doctor. The past soaks into you in this weather because the present is missing almost entirely. Charles Baxter doctors sky past Every relationship has at least one really good day. What I mean is, no matter how sour things go, there's always that day. That day is always in your possession. That's the day you remember. You get old and you think: well, at least I had that day. It happened once. You think all the variables might just line up again. But they don't. Not always. I once talked to a woman who said, "Yeah, that's the day we had an angel around. Charles Baxter good-day angel mean There is no weather in malls. Charles Baxter malls weather If you want to see the consequences of ideas, write a story. If you want to see the consequences of belief, write a story in which somebody is acting on the ideas or beliefs that she has. Charles Baxter acting writing ideas Forget art. Put your trust in ice cream. Charles Baxter ice-cream forget art In truth, there are only two realities: the one for people who are in love or love each other, and the one for people who are standing outside all that. Charles Baxter two reality people Everybody should customize their names. Charles Baxter should names Say what you want about it, Hell is story-friendly... The mechanisms of hell are nicely attuned to the mechanisms of narrative. Not so the pleasures of Paradise. Paradise is not a story. It's about what happens when the stories are over. Charles Baxter want writing friendly At least with pets, and for all I know, people too, intelligence and quick-wittedness have nothing to do with a talent for being loved, or being kind, nothing at all, less than nothing. Charles Baxter be-kind pet people A novel is not a summary of its plot but a collection of instances, of luminous specific details that take us in the direction of the unsaid and unseen. Charles Baxter unseen details writing Try to get your characters into interesting trouble. Allow your characters to misbehave. Let them stay out after 11. Charles Baxter trying character interesting Short story characters, mine anyway, are usually driven by impulse, not so much by their histories and the choices that they have to make. Charles Baxter choices stories character When you break the heart of the philosopher, you must apply great force and cunning strategy, but when the deed is completed, the heart lies in great stony ruin at your feet. If you succeed in breaking it, the job is done once and for all. It will not be repaired. Charles Baxter broken-heart jobs lying I prefer short stories, but publishers would, of course, rather that writers produce novels, since novels are still more commercially viable. Charles Baxter produce novel stories When all the details fit in perfectly, something is probably wrong with the story. Charles Baxter details destiny writing Needing something is not the same thing as being interested in the thing itself. Charles Baxter The worst mistakes I've made have been the ones directed by sweet-natured hopefulness. Charles Baxter made mistake sweet You know, there's something heartsick about parties like this. Look at us. We're all pretending to be smart, as if intelligence were the cure for our anguish. Charles Baxter smart party looks
