Doing what you do well is death. Your duty is to keep trying to do things that you don't do well, in the hope of learning. John Banville More Quotes by John Banville More Quotes From John Banville We writers are shy, nocturnal creatures. Push us into the light and the light blinds us. John Banville us push shy light Writers are just like other people, except slightly more obsessed. John Banville more just like people When I started writing, I was a great rationalist and believed I was absolutely in control. But the older one gets, the more confused, and for an artist I think that is quite a good thing: you allow in more of your instinctual self; your dreams, fantasies and memories. It's richer, in a way. John Banville dreams good you memories I suppose it's possible that a writer would have feeling for his characters, but I can't see how, because writing is such a meticulous, intricate, technical business. I wish I could say that I love my characters and that frequently they take over the book and run away with the plot and so on. But they don't exist. John Banville feeling business love book I don't see how English as we use it in Europe can be revivified. It's like Latin must have been in about A.D. 300, tired and used up. All one can do is press very hard stylistically to make it glow. John Banville glow english see tired I've been wrestling with Kafka since I was an adolescent. I think he's a great aphorist, a great letter writer, a great diarist, a great short story writer, and a great novelist - I'd put novelist last. John Banville short story great think When I say I don't like my own work, that doesn't mean it isn't better than everyone else's. John Banville own better my-own work Death is such a strange thing. One minute you're here and then just gone. You'd think there would be an anteroom, a place where you could be visited before you go. John Banville place think you death When you're writing there's a deep, deep level of concentration way below your normal self. This strange voice, these strange sentences come out of you. John Banville deep you voice self
