Charles Baxter Quotes about Writing

A novel is not a summary of its plot but a collection of instances, of luminous specific details that take us in the direction of the unsaid and unseen.

A novel is not a summary of its plot but a collection of instances, of luminous specific details that take us in the direction of the unsaid and unseen.

Charles Baxter

Writing, Unseen, Details

Charles Baxter (2007). “The art of subtext: beyond plot”, Graywolf Pr

Say what you want about it, Hell is story-friendly... The mechanisms of hell are nicely attuned to the mechanisms of narrative. Not so the pleasures of Paradise. Paradise is not a story. It's about what happens when the stories are over.

Charles Baxter

Writing, Friendly, Want

If you want to see the consequences of ideas, write a story. If you want to see the consequences of belief, write a story in which somebody is acting on the ideas or beliefs that she has.

Charles Baxter

Writing, Ideas, Acting

When all the details fit in perfectly, something is probably wrong with the story.

Charles Baxter

Writing, Destiny, Details

Charles Baxter (1997). “Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction”

When I'm writing, I'm waiting to see somebody, and I'm waiting to hear them. It's almost like conjuring spirits out of the air, using your own imaginative instability.

Charles Baxter

Writing, Air, Waiting