I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write the book straight through from beginning to end. By following time's arrow, I keep myself sane.

Quote by Jonathan Lethem

Topics: Jonathan Lethem Quotes

I plan less and less. It's a great benefit of writing lots, that you get...

I plan less and less. It's a great benefit of writing lots, that you get...

I've had the odd good luck of starting slowly and building gradually, something few writers...

I've had the odd good luck of starting slowly and building gradually, something few writers...

I've never related to the work geek at all-it sounds much more horrible than nerd....

I've never related to the work geek at all-it sounds much more horrible than nerd....

The more film I watch, the more John Ford looks like a giant. His politics...

The more film I watch, the more John Ford looks like a giant. His politics...

I try not to become too regular an addict of any one subculture.

I try not to become too regular an addict of any one subculture.

In my third novel there is an actual black hole that swallows everything you love.

In my third novel there is an actual black hole that swallows everything you love.

I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the...

I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the...

It's now expected of me that I will defy expectation, so I really generally seem...

It's now expected of me that I will defy expectation, so I really generally seem...

The book is openly a kind of spiritual autobiography, but the trick is that on...

The book is openly a kind of spiritual autobiography, but the trick is that on...

I grew up with an artist father, and my parents' friends were also mainly artists...

I grew up with an artist father, and my parents' friends were also mainly artists...

Comics? Honestly, that's more a matter of nostalgia for me. I think most of that...

Comics? Honestly, that's more a matter of nostalgia for me. I think most of that...

I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping...

I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping...

The arts and a belief in the values of the civil rights movement, in the...

The arts and a belief in the values of the civil rights movement, in the...

Fantastic writing in English is kind of disreputable, but fantastic writing in translation is the...

Fantastic writing in English is kind of disreputable, but fantastic writing in translation is the...

Discomfort is very much part of my master plan.

Discomfort is very much part of my master plan.

I never take any notes or draw charts or make elaborate diagrams, but I hold...

I never take any notes or draw charts or make elaborate diagrams, but I hold...

I just noticed recently that in one book after another I seem to find an...

I just noticed recently that in one book after another I seem to find an...

I'd excluded New York from my writing, and then I came back and I fell...

I'd excluded New York from my writing, and then I came back and I fell...

I work on a laptop specifically so I can work in cafes and pretend I'm...

I work on a laptop specifically so I can work in cafes and pretend I'm...

I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to...

I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to...