25 Quotes by David Bezmozgis

We all have some ideological quotient in ourselves. And I think it does guide who we are.

Writing a novel, in an unplanned and unpredictable way, makes you engaged; it takes you into yourself, and it becomes something between you and the character for a moment, and then you move back into the structure of the book. I love those moments, because they are completely unbidden.

There are different types of readers. People draw lines at which three things intersect: the character, the author, and the reader.

Nothing is easy in writing. I don’t think for anyone. But dialogue is probably what comes most naturally to me.

Maybe the most provocative thing one can do – and I’m not the first one to do it – is to ask the moral and philosophical question: why are some people better than others? Why are some people more moral than others?

I think every book is a reaction to everything you’re written before, and most immediately to the book you wrote just before.

We are taught that we can be better than we are. But is there a limit to how good we can be?

Some is, I think, the personal in any act of writing. You find yourself caught up: you start a sentence, and it becomes revelatory, not just of the character, but of you as well.

In my experience of women, women have a greater capacity. Maybe women, even very pragmatic ones, are less guarded about showing emotions.