Richard Russo Quotes


You use simple brushstrokes in a screenplay for things over which you would take much greater pains in a novel. Richard Russo Greater 103
Interesting Miles thought. Like himself Father Mark as a child had been reassured by the imagined proximity of God whereas adults perhaps because they so often were up to no good took more comfort from His remoteness. Richard Russo Sin 101
Structure is one of the things that I always hope will reveal itself to me. Richard Russo Hope 95
Movies have to handle time very efficiently. They're about stringing scenes together in the present. Novels aren't necessarily about that. Richard Russo Movies 83
When my nose finally stops bleeding and Ive disposed of the bloody paper towels Teddy Barnes insists on driving me home in his ancient Honda Civic a car that refuses to die and that Teddy cheap as he is refuses to trade in. Richard Russo First sentence 83
I can be glib and truthful all at once. Richard Russo Truthful 83
An imperfect human heart perfectly shattered was her conclusion. A condition so common as to be virtually universal rendering issues of right and wrong almost incidental. Richard Russo Morality 79
Truth be told, I'm not an easy man. I can be an entertaining one, though it's been my experience that most people don't want to be entertained. They want to be comforted. Richard Russo Experience 79
I want that which is hilarious and that which is heartbreaking to occupy the same territory in the book because I think they very often occupy the same territory in life, much as we try to separate them. Richard Russo Book 77
Even at its most perceptive, sociology deals in abstractions. Richard Russo Deals 68
If you work at comedy too laboriously, you can kill what's funny in the joke. Richard Russo Funny 67
HBO is really famous for hiring good people and staying out of their way until they ask for help, or need it. And that reputation is earned. Richard Russo Ask 66
I looked back at some of my earlier published stories with genuine horror and remorse. I got thinking, How many extant copies might there be, who owns them, and do they keep their doors locked? Richard Russo Copies 65
My dad had this rock hard body and would work 12- to 13-hour days. The guys he worked with were scrap-iron guys. Nobody on that road crew had read a book in 10 years, but there was something about the way they lived I really admired. Richard Russo Dad 59
My books are elegiac in the sense that they're odes to a nation that even I sometimes think may not exist anymore except in my memory and my imagination. Richard Russo Imagination 56
Max would conclude thats who I want to be. The pope. And Ill do the same thing he does. Ill keep all the goddamn money. Richard Russo Money 53
To his surprise he...discovered that it was possible to be good at what you had little interest in just as it had been possible to be bad at somethingthat you cared about a great deal. Richard Russo Talent 47
At the risk of appearing disingenuous, I don't really think of myself as 'writing humor.' I'm simply reporting on the world I observe, which is frequently hilarious. Richard Russo Humor 46
What if all everybody needed in the world was to be sure of one friend What if you were the one and you refused to say those simple words Richard Russo Friends 44
Stories worked much the same wayA false note at the beginning was much more costly than one nearer the end because early errors were part of the foundation. Richard Russo Stories 39
You just kind of have faith. If that sounds kind of mystical, it's because I really don't know how it works, but I trust that it does. I try to write the way I read, in order to find out what happens next. Richard Russo Trust 39
I think that if people are instructed about anything, it should be about the nature of cruelty. And about why people behave so cruelly to each other. And what kind of satisfactions they derive from it. And why there is always a cost, and a price to be paid. Richard Russo Anything 37
One of the odd things about middle age...was the strange decisions a man discovers hes made by not really making them. Richard Russo Aging 37
I never worry about people not taking my work seriously as a result of the humor. In the end, the comic's best trick is the illusion that comedy is effortless. That people imagine what he's doing is easy is an occupational hazard. Richard Russo Humor 37
People often ask me how I make things funny. I don't make things funny. Richard Russo Funny 34
I don't think there's a shortage of material in the world. Or in my head. I just pray for continued good health, because I've got other stories to tell. Richard Russo Health 32
I think a lot of what is going on with kids who get pushed too far and attempt either murder or suicide is that they are trying to deal with their own non-existence for the people who are supposed to care most for them. Richard Russo Attempt 32
I suppose all writers worry about the well running dry. Richard Russo Dry 32
You cant possibly judge your ability to control something until youve experienced the extremes of its capabilities. Do you understand Richard Russo Control 29
I think it would be harder for me not to write comedy because the comic view of things is the one that comes most naturally to me. Richard Russo Comedy 29
To weigh and evaluate a vast grid of information much of it meaningless and to arrive at sensible if erroneous conclusions is a skill not to be sneezed at. Richard Russo Human nature 28
What I discovered I liked best about striking out on my bicycle was that the farther I got from home the more interesting and unusual my thoughts became. Richard Russo Adventure 26
I have to have a character worth caring about. I tend not to start writing books about people I don't have a lot of sympathy for because I'm just going to be with them too long. Richard Russo Uncategorized 23
I read pretty voraciously. If it's good, I don't care what it is. Richard Russo Uncategorized 23

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