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All Donald E. Westlake Quotes
Once he became a series character, I made the conscious choice that he would never act like a series character, never wink at the reader, never pull his punches. Better for him, better for me.
Donald E. Westlake
72% of people like this quote
I also wanted Parker to operate in the Internet age without losing being Parker. He's always operated in the world without really being with the world, and cyberspace means that the rest of us are more and more living the same way.
Donald E. Westlake
62% of people like this quote
If it weren't for received ideas, the publishing industry wouldn't have any ideas at all.
Donald E. Westlake
55% of people like this quote
Seem to be telling this, but really telling that. Three-dimensional writing, like three-dimensional chess. Nabokov was the other master of that. You could learn something from Nabokov on every page he ever wrote.
Donald E. Westlake
54% of people like this quote
My work schedule has changed over the years. The one constant is, when at work on a novel, I try to work seven days a week, so as not to lose touch with that world. Within that, I'm flexible on hours and output.
Donald E. Westlake
54% of people like this quote
The many magazines, ranging from pulp to slick, that used to serve as both farm teams for writers and lures to readers, with hundreds of short stories every month, don't exist. Most of the doors for new people have been sealed.
Donald E. Westlake
54% of people like this quote
If you think of movie studio executives, say, as society, then I root for the independent producers.
Donald E. Westlake
54% of people like this quote
I start with the story, almost in the old campfire sense, and the story leads to both the characters, which actors should best be cast in this story, and the language. The choice of words, more than anything else, creates the feeling that the story gives off.
Donald E. Westlake
51% of people like this quote
Nothing about it interested me. Or about anything else, except making up stories. If literacy weren't so nearly universal, God knows what I'd be. A drain on the State, I shouldn't wonder.
Donald E. Westlake
49% of people like this quote
Everybody in New York is looking for something. Once in a while, somebody finds it.
Donald E. Westlake
49% of people like this quote
Sorry; I have no space left for advice. Just do it.
Donald E. Westlake
48% of people like this quote
All of the changes in publishing since 1960 are significant. There are far fewer publishers.
Donald E. Westlake
46% of people like this quote
A friend of mine, now retired, was then a major exec at a major bank, and one of her jobs, the last four years, was the farewell interview.
Donald E. Westlake
43% of people like this quote
I loved it, but social reality impeded. Now I wander in here at 9 in the morning or so, and come back for a while in the afternoon. I am a very lenient boss.
Donald E. Westlake
39% of people like this quote
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