It's like standing on the edge of a cliff. This is especially true of the first draft. Every day you're making up the earth you're going to stand on. Peter Carey More Quotes by Peter Carey More Quotes From Peter Carey I have written a memoir here and there, and that takes its own form of selfishness and courage. However, generally speaking, I have no interest in writing about my own life or intruding in the privacy of those around me. Peter Carey selfishness here-and-there writing One has to be able to twist and change and distort characters, play with them like clay, so everything fits together. Real people don't permit you to do that. Peter Carey real play character So in the first draft, I'm inventing people and place with a broad schematic idea of what's going to happen. In the process, of course, I discover all sorts of bigger and more substantial things. Peter Carey people ideas firsts What I find really attractive is something that's going to be a little dangerous. Something that might get me into trouble; you know, you turn up in London and you've just rewritten Dickens. And, of course, then you think, 'What have I done? Peter Carey done littles thinking Glass is a thing in disguise, an actor, is not solid at all, but a liquid?an old sheet of glass will not only take on a royal and purplish tinge but will reveal its true liquid nature by having grown fatter at the bottom and thinner at thetop, and? It isinvisible, solid, in short a joyous and paradoxical thing, asgood a material as any tobuild a life from. Peter Carey royal glasses actors Writers are always envious, mean-minded, filled with rage and envyat other's good fortune. There is nothing like the failure of a close friend to cheer us up. Peter Carey close-friends cheer mean I don't need new boots I got bluchers back down home. Eff the effing bluchers I'll buy you new adjectival effing elastic sided boots. Peter Carey boots home needs You could not tell a story like this. A story like this you could only feel. Peter Carey stories feels It's true: one of the things that I've always thought about American society is that you never get the sort of natural politicisation of class consciousness that you would get in the United Kingdom or even in Australia. Peter Carey australia kingdoms class (From the story The Last Days of a Famous Mime) He said nothing. He was mildly annoyed at her presumption: that he had not thought this many, many times before. With perfect misunderstanding she interpreted his passivity as disdain. Wishing to hurt him, she slapped his face. Wishing to hurt her, he smiled brilliantly. Peter Carey annoyed hurt perfect Writers, at least writers of fiction, are always full of anxiety and worry. Peter Carey anxiety worry fiction All our heroes, all our great stories are about failure. Peter Carey crafts hero stories Being famous as a writer is like being famous in a village. It's not really any very heady fame. Peter Carey being-famous village fame Then I fell in love and everything went to hell. Peter Carey hell And it's always possible that you will not get a nice review. So - and that's enraging of course, to get a bad review, you can't talk back, and it's sort of shaming in a way. Peter Carey reviews nice way At the very end of a book I can manage to work for longer stretches, but mostly, making stuff up for three hours, that's enough. I can't do any more. At the end of the day I might tinker with my morning's work and maybe write some again. But I think three hours is fine. Peter Carey writing morning book I never base characters on real people. There are people who do that but I really don't know how to do it. Peter Carey real character people I thought I would be an organic chemist. I went off to university, and when I couldn't understand the chemistry lectures I decided that I would be a zoologist, because zoologists seemed like life-loving people. Peter Carey zoologist would-be people I think it's really boring, from the point of view of the novelist, to write about yourself. Tedious. But that's very hard to explain to people who really don't believe in the possibility of invention. Peter Carey writing believe thinking Australia is my lens. I cannot see the world any other way. Peter Carey see australia way world
