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My sophomore English teacher encouraged me to write for the school paper, and that's what got me started. Suddenly it struck me that being a writer could be a romantic and adventurous position. Previously, I had thought I would be a tennis pro, giving lessons at a local club. I thought that would be a good life, and it might have been.

Jonathan Ames

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Jonathan Ames
Age: 60
Born: 1964
Born: March 23
Author
Essayist
Novelist
Screenwriter
Writer
New York City
New York
Writing
Teacher
Local
Good
Position
Tennis
Would
Started
Romantic
Sophomore
Life
Write
Suddenly
Previously
Thought
English
Adventurous
School
Lessons
Encouraged
Might
Paper
Struck
Giving
Writer
Club

More quotes by Jonathan Ames

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Mostly I have to try to censor myself so as not to write things that will hurt other people, or that will go too far.
Jonathan Ames
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The work changes the way your face changes and ages - it just does. Also, I have very little connection to anything I've written. I move on. We all move on
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Nothing wrong with changing your mind. That's a very unwaffling thing to say: Nothing wrong... Who am I to say that there's nothing wrong with it? Maybe something is wrong with changing your mind. Anyway, love is very, very difficult. I love. But probably because I hate myself on some deep, sick level, it makes loving difficult. But I do try.
Jonathan Ames
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It seems like the original 'Star Trek' could have gone on longer.
Jonathan Ames
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A lot of writing is a form of seeing - putting down what you see in terms of action and landscape.
Jonathan Ames
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Having a show get canceled is like, 'Oh, you have caviar between your teeth,' you know what I mean? Because you had a show in the first place.
Jonathan Ames
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I enjoy both TV writing and novel writing, and they are very similar. The goal is to entertain and amuse the audience, and I subscribe to this P.G. Wodehouse piece of advice: Try to give pleasure with every sentence.
Jonathan Ames
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There's no shortage of material in life.
Jonathan Ames
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It's hard for me to think of writing a novel, because it takes so long.
Jonathan Ames
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I don't laugh that much, but I do like humorous books, and I like to entertain readers that way.
Jonathan Ames
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Whether I'm writing scripts or prose, the goal is identical. To give pleasure. Now whether I succeed or not is up for debate, and, mostly, I fail. But I try. I like to make things. It's a way to stay busy during one's ephemeral and confusing life.
Jonathan Ames
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It was one of those days when every time I went to go out the door, something grabbed me in the back of the brain and said, lie down and masturbate one more time.
Jonathan Ames
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There are so many talented young writers named Jonathan, with whom by comparison I suffer terribly.
Jonathan Ames
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I've really never written about my relationships, or things like that. I wouldn't want to divulge things that were too private.
Jonathan Ames
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How terrible to be alcoholic. You just want to quietly soothe and maybe poison yourself, but you end up poisoning those around you as well, like trying to commit suicide with a gas oven and unwittingly murdering your neighbors.
Jonathan Ames
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I've always been intrigued by Stockholm Syndrome. Reminds me of my childhood.
Jonathan Ames
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I hid my underwear beneath a parked Peugeot.
Jonathan Ames
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I certainly want to portray the importance of friendship. I had noticed in movies and TV shows that friends often treated one another terribly, and my friends, the few I have, are never cruel to me or unkind, so I wanted to convey that.
Jonathan Ames
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The reason it's hard for me to tweet is I don't want to pronounce anything, and Twitter is for pronouncing.
Jonathan Ames
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I've always been inspired by Don Quixote as a role model of sorts, of the power of books to sort of make you insane in maybe a beautiful way.
Jonathan Ames