There are many answers, none of them right, but some of them most definitely wrong. Ruth Ozeki More Quotes by Ruth Ozeki More Quotes From Ruth Ozeki It takes a long time to write a book. I'm not going to spend that much time trying to deliver a message. The reason I do it is because I want to understand something myself. It's not a delivery device, it's an inquiry device. Didactic fiction to my mind never works. It backfires. Ruth Ozeki writing long book language is magical - it's a form of conjuring. If you do it convincingly, readers will follow you. Ruth Ozeki conjuring form language Writing a book is a way of thinking to me, the only way of thinking that I have found successful. Ruth Ozeki successful writing book She smiled. “Life is full of stories. Or maybe life is only stories. Good night, my dear Nao. Ruth Ozeki good-night life-is stories Any independent bookstore that has managed to survive is the best place to do a reading. Ruth Ozeki survive place best reading I live in a beautiful part of British Columbia, and I run through the rainforest. I do have to look over my shoulder to check for a cougar or a wolf though, so sometimes it's not the most relaxing. Ruth Ozeki live look beautiful sometimes When I'm writing a novel, I'm usually just trying to write about things that are interesting to me. Ruth Ozeki things me writing trying Maybe all teenagers feel like they don't fit in. I never felt like a cool kid. I remember being bullied for being Asian. Ruth Ozeki feel never cool remember The American society around me looked at me and saw Japanese. Then, when I was 19, I went to Japan for the first time. And suddenly - what a shock - I realized I wasn't Japanese; they saw me as American. It was an enormous relief. Now I just appreciate being exactly in the middle. Ruth Ozeki me appreciate society time For a writer, you definitely do not want to be in the mainstream. You want to be on the edge because that's where the vantage point is. That's where you can see. Ruth Ozeki edge see you want I think that all writing is in search of lost time. I'm starting to realise that very clearly. Ruth Ozeki search think writing time For me, writing is a way of thinking. I write in a journal a lot. I'm a very impatient person, so writing and meditation allow me to slow down and watch my mind; they are containers that keep me in place, hold me still. Ruth Ozeki place me mind thinking There's something about the idea of writing, and thinking about writing as a form of prayer - the way as a writer you call out into the world and throw your words into the world. You're not praying to a god, but you're almost conjuring a reader to arrive. That's what books do: they're an invitation to readers. Ruth Ozeki you prayer god thinking People have always heard voices. Sometimes they're called shamans, sometimes they're called mad, and sometimes they're called fiction writers. I always feel lucky that I live in a culture where fiction writing is legal and not seen as pathology. Ruth Ozeki legal feel culture people Writing is solitary. You spend so much time alone and in your own mind, telling stories. Ruth Ozeki alone you mind time I am really interested in the way we relate to time. In particular, the way readers and writers talk to each other. Casting your voice out into the future is very beautiful to me. Ruth Ozeki me future time beautiful There's something about Vonnegut's deadpan irony that I really like. And I like Borges' puzzle structure. Ruth Ozeki puzzle something like irony Canada has always been a great place for literature. It's strong and growing stronger, and there will always be reading, and there will always be great writers. Ruth Ozeki place great strong reading I've always played that edge of fact and fiction. I used to be a filmmaker, and certainly in film that's a line that filmmakers cross more readily and more easily than novelists. Ruth Ozeki edge more always film I did documentary film for a long time, and I spent a lot of time behind the camera, fervently wishing that the reality I was filming would conform to my narrative propriety. But you can't control it. Ruth Ozeki you time long reality
