The novel is never really in the first draft. The novel really happens in the revisions. Tama Janowitz More Quotes by Tama Janowitz More Quotes From Tama Janowitz With publicity comes humiliation. Tama Janowitz humiliationpublicity On bad days, I think I'd like to be a plastic surgeon who goes to Third World countries and operates on children in villages with airlifts, and then I think, 'Yeah, right, I'm going to go back to undergraduate school and take all the biology I missed and then go to medical school.' No. No. Tama Janowitz bad-daycountrychildren I was like a social worker for lepers. My clients had a chunk of their body they wanted to give away; for a price I was there to receive it. Tama Janowitz clientsbodygiving Why would I want to read something about somebody that's just a really nice, decent person who overcomes terrible trials? That's not how life is to me. Tama Janowitz nicetrialsovercoming Whether I'm critically well received, whether or not I sell books - of course it becomes progressively harder to get them published - nevertheless, it's what I do, every day. Tama Janowitz harderwellsbook I think the sixties must have been quite a lot of fun. Tama Janowitz has-beensfunthinking Brownstein's is a fresh and jaunty voice, with a jazz snap all his own. Tama Janowitz snapsjazzvoice I think in a lot of ways, writing, when you're really in there, is like being an actress because you're in somebody else's head. Tama Janowitz writingwaythinking Never Mind Nirvana is the first novel I’ve read that makes music as important as food, clothing romance — a fresh twist millions will be able to identify with – and the music of Lindquist’s language is a perfect match for the subject. I think he’s the writer to watch in the new millennium. Tama Janowitz romanceperfectthinking I feel like I sort of missed the eighties. At the time, we didn’t know we were having fun, which is probably the way it always is. Tama Janowitz feelsfunway Every book I write, the media just keeps punching me in the face. Tama Janowitz mediawritingbook I think it's more difficult writing what it's like to be a child. You can pretend you know what it's like, but you don't really know. The only parts I can remember is that the adults were like, "Aren't they cute?" But when you're little you're looking at the other kids like they're your colleagues. They're not like, "Oh, we're all cute little kids." They're more like your office acquaintances. It's very hard to grasp the memories of what it actually was like to be a kid. Tama Janowitz cutememorieschildren I felt my whole life was a facsimile of a life. Tama Janowitz whole-lifefeltwhole Crimes, sins, nightmares, hunks of hair: it was surprising how many of them has something to dispose of. The more I charged, the easier it was for them to breathe freely once more. Tama Janowitz nightmaresinhair As a writer, I don't think it's my responsibility to make a point. I just write and hope there's someone who'll like it. Tama Janowitz responsibilitywritingthinking If you want to write about a person who isn't nice, people say, "This is a bad book. It's about somebody I couldn't stand." But that's not the point. You don't have to like a character to like a book. Most of the time, people would misjudge and say, "I didn't like the book." No, you didn't like the character. That doesn't make it any less interesting of a book. In fact, to me, it makes it more interesting. Tama Janowitz nicewritingbook Long after the bomb falls and you and your good deeds are gone, cockroaches will still be here, prowling the streets like armored cars. Tama Janowitz kind-deedslongfall I don't want my novel to be like Madame Bovary, finely crafted with the life edited out of it. I want my novel to be like a friend telling me a story -- so we go off on thoughts; that's the way it is. Tama Janowitz storieswantway In my writing I wanted to be liked for writing really unlikeable stuff. There were books that people, particularly women, hated so much. They said, "I threw it against the wall!" Which, in my opinion, was a compliment. Because it's very hard to get somebody to throw something. Tama Janowitz wallwritingbook I think powerful women don't care whether or not they're liked. Tama Janowitz carepowerfulthinking
