(Notable Quotables is a meme originally brought to you by the Bewitched Bookworms. Every Monday you’re invited to share a favorite quote or two from the books you’ve been reading.)
I’ve been a writer of some sort since middle school. I started off writing fan fiction stories (don’t judge), moved onto original short stories, and spent all of college writing stage and screen plays. I still write every day, although it’s mostly non-fiction, and part of my job.
I first heard of the Brazilian playwright Gonzales when I attended the Prague Quadrennial, an international theatre and scenic design exhibition where 60 countries showcase their theatrical prowess. I’ve never read anything by Gonzales, but I love his earthy approach to how to get the audience totally engrossed in the story:
“To keep the audience you need to fill the stage with murderers, adulterers, maniacs, in short, a horde of monsters.”
Writing is awesome, mainly because it leads to books. And books are magical, meaningful things, says Thomas Hardy, meant to bring focus to that which we may not always notice:
“The business of the poet and the novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things, and the grandest underlying the sorriest things.”
What are you reading this week?