Memory is not particularly linear - it is associative, repetitive, subjective and porous. But the writer needs to convey disorder and dysfunction without making the novel itself disorderly or dysfunctional.

Dana Spiotta

Convey Disorder Dysfunction Dysfunctional Itself Linear Making Memory Needs Novel Particularly Repetitive Subjective Without Writer

Related Quotes

I'm thinking about past events. I'm interested in recall, exact recall, of what was said, who said it and to whom. I want to know the truth, undistorted by time and revision and wishes and regrets.

— Dana Spiotta

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It takes a long time to write a novel when you have to keep interrupting your work to earn money.

— Dana Spiotta

The novel is about, for me, sustained and organized looking. I do think that people have a hunger for a sustained engagement, that concentration that the book can offer.

— Dana Spiotta

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A good novel should be deeply unsettling - its satisfactions should come from its authenticity and its formal coherence. We must feel something crucial is at stake.

— Dana Spiotta

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That was one of the reasons I became a writer - I never really had that many friends. I would read a lot, and listen to music. And that was my life.

— Dana Spiotta

BecameFriendsHad