The good parts of a book may be only something a writer is lucky enough to overhear or it may be the wreck of his whole damn life and one is as good as the other.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
A bad book is as much of a labor to write as a good one, it comes as sincerely from the author's soul.
It's with bad sentiments that one makes good novels.
All good books have one thing in common - they are truer than if they had really happened.
A great literary work can be completely, completely unpredictable. Which can sometimes make them very hard to read, but it gives them a great originality.
Everybody's idea of a great book is different, of course. For me it's one that makes my jaw drop on every page, the writing is so original.
What makes a good book and what makes a good movie are totally different things.
I don't think any good book is based on factual experience. Bad books are about things the writer already knew before he wrote them.
Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the author's. It speaks from itself rather than you. Each book is unlike the others because you are not bringing the same voice to every book. I think that keeps you alive as a writer.
Often something comes in from which you can see that the person is good, the book may not be perfect as it is, and the person doesn't want to do a re-write. That's something we do almost nothing of.
I find that most novels are not good all the way through. A story can be good all the way through, every sentence.