There is no place for grief in a house which serves the Muse. – Sappho

He thought of trying to explain something he had recently noticed about himself: that if anyone insulted him, or one of his friends, he didn’t really mind–or not much, anyway. Whereas if anyone insulted a novel, a story, a poem that he loved, something visceral and volcanic occurred within him. He wasn’t sure what this might mean–except perhaps that he had got life and art mixed up, back to front, upside down. – Julian Barnes

He thought of trying to explain something he had recently noticed about himself: that if anyone insulted him, or one of his friends, he didn’t really mind–or not much, anyway. Whereas if anyone insulted a novel, a story, a poem that he loved, something visceral and volcanic occurred within him. He wasn’t sure what this might mean–except perhaps that he had got life and art mixed up, back to front, upside down. – Julian Barnes

Q: Do you feel concerned that after all this work, people won’t treat [Starship Titanic] with the gravity of, say, a movie or a book? That they won’t treat it as an art form? D.A.: I hope that’s the case, yes. I get very worried about this idea of art. Having been an English literary graduate, I’ve been trying to avoid the idea of doing art ever since. I think the idea of art kills creativity. … [I]f somebody wants to come along and say, “Oh, it’s art,” that’s as may be. I don’t really mind that much. But I think that’s for other people to decide after the fact. It isn’t what you should be aiming to do. There’s nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, “Well, okay, I’m going to do something of high artistic worth.” … I think you get most of the most interesting work done in fields where people don’t think they’re doing art, but merely practicing a craft, and working as good craftsmen. … I tend to get very suspicious of anything that thinks it’s art while it’s being created. – Douglas Adams

Q: Do you feel concerned that after all this work, people won’t treat [Starship Titanic] with the gravity of, say, a movie or a book? That they won’t treat it as an art form?

D.A.: I hope that’s the case, yes. I get very worried about this idea of art. Having been an English literary graduate, I’ve been trying to avoid the idea of doing art ever since. I think the idea of art kills creativity. … [I]f somebody wants to come along and say, “Oh, it’s art,” that’s as may be. I don’t really mind that much. But I think that’s for other people to decide after the fact. It isn’t what you should be aiming to do. There’s nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, “Well, okay, I’m going to do something of high artistic worth.” … I think you get most of the most interesting work done in fields where people don’t think they’re doing art, but merely practicing a craft, and working as good craftsmen. … I tend to get very suspicious of anything that thinks it’s art while it’s being created. – Douglas Adams

If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes. – Pablo Picasso

In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself, must I write? – Rainer Maria Rilke

In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself, must I write? – Rainer Maria Rilke

No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination. – Edward Hopper

Tell me, tutor,’ I said. ‘Is revenge a science, or an art? – Mark Lawrence

Of course it is juggling, theman in motley was saying…YOu know what your problem is, Sir Grenall? You’ve been seduced by the lure of spectacle. Sure, I could juggle three or four balls and use two hands, and that would be very impressive, but then what would I do after that? Five balls? Three hands? You see how it goes? Now me, I’m an artist, trying to recapture the original purity of the art form. This-the man nodded at the ball he tossing up and down-this is the essence of juggling. – Gerald Morris

Of course it is juggling, theman in motley was saying…YOu know what your problem is, Sir Grenall? You’ve been seduced by the lure of spectacle. Sure, I could juggle three or four balls and use two hands, and that would be very impressive, but then what would I do after that? Five balls? Three hands? You see how it goes? Now me, I’m an artist, trying to recapture the original purity of the art form. This-the man nodded at the ball he tossing up and down-this is the essence of juggling. – Gerald Morris

If we have no heretics we must invent them, for heresy is essential to health and growth. – Yevgeny Zamyatin

Art is whether or not there is a scream in him wanting to get out in a special way. – Chaim Potok

The ‘Muse’ is not an artistic mystery, but a mathematical equation. The gift are those ideas you think of as you drift to sleep. The giver is that one you think of when you first awake. – Roman Payne

The ‘Muse’ is not an artistic mystery, but a mathematical equation. The gift are those ideas you think of as you drift to sleep. The giver is that one you think of when you first awake. – Roman Payne

Good ideas stay with you until you eventually write the story. – Brian Keene