The only thing I learn on a daily basis from law school is that I disliked it and the law so much that it's constantly this fire at my heels. Stephan Pastis More Quotes by Stephan Pastis More Quotes From Stephan Pastis Basically, I learned to read by reading 'Peanuts,' just wanting to know what they were saying. Stephan Pastis peanuts reading knows You can write a little and can draw a little, but there's necessarily a limitation on both in a comic strip, since it appears in such a tiny space. Stephan Pastis space writing littles We need more cartoonists to truly retire when they retire, and not run repeats. Stephan Pastis retiring running needs Repeats are the absolute soul-crushing killers of the comics page. Stephan Pastis crush pages soul Most poetry just confounds me. I really want to like it, but I can't help thinking it's a hoax. (p. 24) Stephan Pastis hoaxes want thinking The principles of comedy are the principles of comedy. I can hear funny. Stephan Pastis comedy i-can principles funny The wonderful thing about a book is that you have a canvas that is 300 pages wide, and it's all free space. You can make a piece of art as big as you want and whatever shape you want. Stephan Pastis you space book art For me, going to Minneapolis is like going to Mecca. Stephan Pastis going like me mecca You can't just count on becoming a syndicated cartoonist. I actually tried to calculate the odds once, and the best I could come up with is a 1-in-36,000 chance. And the odds of getting hit by lightning are 1 in 7,900 - which kind of shows how long those odds are. Stephan Pastis best you chance long I want a career writing these novels that I can be proud of. And then I want one as a screenwriter. Stephan Pastis i-can proud want writing Maybe the bar is low, but most of the strips that are 50, 60, 70 years old that are on their second or third generation of artists, the humor is pretty bland. There are others by people that were raised on 'Family Guy' or 'South Park' that are edgier. Mine's not as edgy as those, but it's edgier than 'Beetle Bailey.' Stephan Pastis generation family humor people I do what makes me laugh. Stephan Pastis makes laugh me I write for three or four hours and then hopefully I'll have something. Then I draw for the rest of the afternoon... I literally block out Wednesday-Thursday-Friday - I more or less disappear. Stephan Pastis rest more something three I like characters like Ignatius Reilly in 'A Confederacy of Dunces' and Ricky Gervais's character in 'The Office.' They think one thing about themselves, but the truth is as far from that as it can be. So I began to think about how to put that kind of character in a book for kids. Stephan Pastis truth-is truth character book Thomas, my 15-year-old, is effectively my editor, I've always trusted his voice, more than anybody, on the strip for years. He has one of those ears that's just tuned to the rhythm of humor, so if he says something's not funny, my stomach just hurts because I know he's right, and it's already been drawn. Stephan Pastis know voice humor funny I have days where the only words I say are to the person making my sandwich at the grocery store. Stephan Pastis sandwich words person say I think it might surprise the average person how angry people can get over the comics. Stephan Pastis think angry surprise people It seems so absurd to get really mad with a cartoonist over a comic strip. It's sort of like getting in a fight with a circus clown outside your house. It's not going to end well. Stephan Pastis end fight mad house To get syndicated as a comic strip artist is as likely as winning the lottery. Stephan Pastis get lottery artist winning This is every creative person's dream - a hobby that I'm lucky enough to get paid for. Stephan Pastis lucky creative enough dream
