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I'm not one of these 'the characters write themselves the story just fell out of me' kind of writers. Wish it was like that.

Markus Zusak

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Markus Zusak
Age: 49
Born: 1975
Born: January 1
Novelist
Writer
Sydney
NSW
Kind
Writers
Like
Characters
Story
Wish
Write
Stories
Character
Writing
Fell

More quotes by Markus Zusak

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The scrawled words of practice stood magnificently on the wall by the stairs, jagged and childlike and sweet. They looked on as both the hidden Jew and the girl slept, hand to shoulder. They breathed. German and Jewish lungs.
Markus Zusak
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I just know that right now, we want to be proud. For once. We want to take the struggle and rise above it. We want to frame it, live it, survive it. We want to put it in our mouths and taste it and never forget it, because it makes us strong.
Markus Zusak
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She was like a lone angel floating above the surface of the earth, laughing with delight because she could fly but crying out of loneliness.
Markus Zusak
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I think to be writer you have to enjoy being alone. I was a loner as a teenager and was always drawn to characters in books and films who were at the fringes.
Markus Zusak
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But then, is there cowardice in the acknowledgment of fear? Is there cowardice in being glad that you lived?
Markus Zusak
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It was a Monday and they walked on a tightrope to the sun.
Markus Zusak
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I try hard and aim big. People can hate or love my books but they can never accuse me of not trying.
Markus Zusak
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They'd been standing like that for thirty seconds of forever.
Markus Zusak
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It's funny, don't you think, how time seems to do a lot of things? It flies, it tells, and worst of all, it runs out.
Markus Zusak
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I even move out onto the front porch and see my own limited view of the world. I want to take that world, and for the first time ever, I feel like I can do it. I’ve survived everything I’ve had to so far. I’m still standing here.
Markus Zusak
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There are moments when you can only stand and stare, watching the world forget you as you remove yourself from it - when you overcome it and cease to exist as the person you were.
Markus Zusak
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The flyscreen door slammed behind me. My feet dragged. I reached each arm into the jacket. Warm sleeves. Crumpled collar. Hands in pockets. Okay. I walked.
Markus Zusak
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I guess that’s the beauty of books. When they finish they don’t really finish.
Markus Zusak
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My voice is like a rumour. I'm not sure if it came out or not, or if it is true.
Markus Zusak
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The conversation of bullets.
Markus Zusak
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Even enemies were an inch away from friendship.
Markus Zusak
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It's insane to be a writer and not be a reader. When I'm writing I'm more likely to be reading four or five books at once, just in bits and pieces rather than subjecting myself to a really brilliant book and thinking, Well what's the point of me writing anything? I'm more likely to read a book through when I take a break from writing.
Markus Zusak
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And then there's the sickness I feel from looking at legs I can't touch, or at lips that don't smile at me. Or hips that don't reach for me. And hearts that don't beat for me.
Markus Zusak
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I certainly wasn't born with creative writing. Maybe there's a certain amount of learning and then it's up to the person. I think in the end it's your favourite books that are the best teachers. That's the way I've learned the most, by far.
Markus Zusak
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They say that war is death's best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thin, incessantly: 'Get it done, get it done.' So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.
Markus Zusak