Quote

It's very difficult to put in the work unless you believe that what you're doing is significant in some way.

Theodora Goss

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Theodora Goss
Age: 56
Born: 1968
Born: September 30
Novelist
Writer
Buda Pest
Way
Significant
Unless
Difficult
Work
Believe

More quotes by Theodora Goss

Image
I actually pushed the boundaries on how long a book like this [The Thorn and the Blossom] can be. The original plan called for two 7,500 word stories, and I turned in two 10,000 word stories.
Theodora Goss
Image
Understanding what is going on in the world today inspires me in a negative sense because there's so much about it that I don't like - political stupidity, environmental degradation, etc. And that makes me want to change it, to make a difference in the world.
Theodora Goss
Image
If you look at the natural world, really look at it, it's always magical.
Theodora Goss
Image
Nature inspires me continually. Today, I can look out my window and see the entire world covered with snow. It's like Narnia under the White Witch.
Theodora Goss
Image
When we tell stories about things that are important - love, fear, beauty - we change the way people think about the world. Writers are, or should be, truth-tellers even when the stories themselves are fantasy.
Theodora Goss
Image
Sometimes you have to follow your uncommon sense.
Theodora Goss
Image
Art inspires me. Looking at art in a museum, listening to music, reading the works of other writers.
Theodora Goss
Image
I talked on my blog recently about uncommon sense. Common sense is called common because it reflects cultural consensus. It's common sense to get a good job and save for retirement. But I think we all also have an uncommon sense, an individual voice that tells us what we're meant to do.
Theodora Goss
Image
I worry very much that people won't like it, or will think it's simply silly. But I have a post-it note above my desk that says What would you do if you weren't afraid? And if I weren't afraid, I would do a poetry collection.
Theodora Goss
Image
Jorge Luis Borges wrote a poem when he was in his 80s about one day writing the book that would justify him. This was long after he had become one of the great masters, a writer everyone looks up to and reveres. As artists, I don't think we ever see ourselves as done. We always think we're at the beginning . . .
Theodora Goss
Image
Delia Sherman once told me that you never learn to write a story. You only learn to write the story you are currently writing. You have to learn how to write the next story all over again. And she's absolutely right.
Theodora Goss
Image
It's appropriate to have magic in a love story, because magic is a sort of metaphor for what love feels like? When we fall in love, the world feels magical to us. It becomes an enchanted place.
Theodora Goss
Image
The book itself [The Thorn and The Blossom] is bound accordion-style: it has no spine, so it can open in either direction, and it's in a slipcase.
Theodora Goss
Image
I've heard some readers saying they wished the story was longer, and I completely understand that desire - we all like to sink into a nice, long novel.
Theodora Goss
Image
I had a short story collection come out in 2006, and then I couldn't work on large projects for a long time because I was finishing my doctoral degree.
Theodora Goss
Image
I'm working on a poetry collection for Papaveria Press . It fills me with trepidation - poetry is something I'm much more self-conscious about than prose.
Theodora Goss
Image
I loved writing something people usually have - miscommunication, for example. Now that I've written a romance, I'm sure I'll write more: it's fascinating to put people together and see what happens, how they fall in love and what that means in their lives.
Theodora Goss
Image
I would tell myself to get more sleep! Believe it or not, I wrote the book while finishing my PhD in English literature. It was wonderful to get away from doing literary scholarship by writing this mythical love story. I think so much of my own love for books and scholarship comes through in The Thorn and the Blossom.
Theodora Goss
Image
The book[ The Thorn and The Blossom] is a love story about two people, Brendan and Evelyn, who meet in a small town in Cornwall where Evelyn has gone on vacation and Brendan is working in his father's bookstore. The story is told from both perspectives, Brendan's and Evelyn's.
Theodora Goss
Image
Writing is an art like other arts. Dancers don't dance every once in a while. Musicians don't stop practicing. They are dedicated to what they do.
Theodora Goss