You know people are always putting Ulysses in the top 10 books ever written but I doubt that any of those people were really moved by it.
Some of the people who look the most normal are probably the maddest people trying to look normal.
No matter how close to personal experience a story might be, inevitably you are going to get to a part that isn’t yours and, actually, whether it happened or not becomes irrelevant. It is all about choosing the right words.
Good ideas are often murdered by better ones.
I see people in terms of dialogue and I believe that people are their talk.
When I’m writing I just think there’s only the page and me and nobody else.
I’m not recognised that much. I’m just a bald man in glasses and there’s a rash of them in Dublin. It’d be different if I had a mohican.
Do be kind to yourself. Fill pages as quickly as possible; double space, or write on every second line. Regard every new page as a small triumph, until you get to page 50. Then calm down, and start worrying about the quality. Do feel anxiety – it’s the job.
To claim that music is more important than oxygen would be trite and sentimental. It would also be true.
If you are a writer you’re at home, which means you’re out of touch. You have to make excuses to get out there and look at how the world is changing.
Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.
My novels come from within me; they are things I feel I want to do.
I wasn’t even aware of the Year of the Family. I couldn’t give a toss. These things – the year of the family, the year of the three-legged dog. I think it’s all trash.
I’m going to sound like an old man but at my age, it’s lovely doing something that you’ve never done before.
Dreaming was only nice while it lasted.
She’d tried her hand at most things, but drew the line at honesty.
The best way to reveal a character is to get them to open their mouths.
Schools don’t really allow failure and yet it’s part of any endeavour, not just writing.
I do enjoy Gothic fiction or books about zombies if they are well written and I like vampires.
I don’t work to any commissions. I do what I want to do.