William Landay Quotes

The interior of a teenager’s mind is an endless war between Stupid and Clever.

William Landay

Clever, War, Teenager

William Landay (2012). “Defending Jacob: A Novel”, p.211, Delacorte Press

47 Copy quote
An emotion is a thought, yes, an idea, but it is also a sensation, an ache in your body. Desire, love, hate, fear, repulsion - you feel these things in your muscle and bones, not just in your mind.

William Landay

Hate, Ideas, Desire Love

William Landay (2012). “Defending Jacob: A Novel”, p.209, Delacorte Press

8 Copy quote
Predisposition is not predestination.

William Landay

Predestination

William Landay (2012). “Defending Jacob: A Novel”, p.195, Delacorte Press

9 Copy quote
Genes are not simple triggers. No one is hardwired to commit murder or any other crime. Our actions are always the result of stupendously complex gene-environment interactions, and environment is likely to remain the more important influence by far.

William Landay

Simple, Important, Our Actions

6 Copy quote
But sometimes you can't figure everything out because you can't ever really understand other people. You can't understand why they do what they do. You just have to accept a little mystery, Ben. People are mysterious, the world is mysterious. You can't know everything. You're not supposed to. This isn't a history book. It's just the world. It's a messy place.

William Landay

Book, People, World

5 Copy quote
no one worth knowing can be quite known, no one worth possessing can be quite possessed

William Landay

Knowing, Possessing, Possessed

William Landay (2012). “Defending Jacob: A Novel”, p.125, Delacorte Press

6 Copy quote
Good stories are driven by conflict, tension, and high stakes.

William Landay

Stories, Conflict, Driven

5 Copy quote
You know, being confident isn't the same as being right.

William Landay

Be Confident, Knows

"Defending Jacob: A Novel". Book by William Landay, 2012.

6 Copy quote
There are many more ways to be attractive than to be beautiful.

William Landay

Beautiful, Way, Attractive

"Mission Flats: A Novel". Book by William Landay, 2003.

6 Copy quote
You can write a great book and be ignored. Literary history is full of classics that were under-appreciated in their own time.

William Landay

Book, Writing, Ignored

5 Copy quote
Damage hardens us all. It will harden you too, when it finds you—and it will find you

William Landay

Damage

6 Copy quote
Well, I outline fanatically. I am a long thinker and a slow writer, though I am trying to get faster.

William Landay

Long, Trying, Faster

5 Copy quote
the act does not create guilt unless the mind is also guilty.

William Landay

Mind, Guilt, Doe

William Landay (2012). “Defending Jacob: A Novel”, p.129, Delacorte Press

5 Copy quote
There is no absolute beginning to any story, after all. There is only the moment you begin watching.

William Landay

Stories, Moments, Absolutes

4 Copy quote
Crime and legal stories, broadly speaking, are just where my interest happens to lie.

William Landay

Lying, Stories, Crime

4 Copy quote
The rest-the vast majority, tens of thousands of days-are unremarkable, repetitive, even monotonous. We glide through them then instantly forget them. We tend not to think about this arithmetic when we look back on our lives. We remember the handful of Big Days and throw away the rest.
We organize our long, shapeless lives into tidy little stories...But our lives are mostly made up of junk, of ordinary, forgettable days, and 'The End' is never the end.

William Landay

Thinking, Long, Looks

William Landay (2012). “Defending Jacob: A Novel”, p.381, Delacorte Press

4 Copy quote
We move through time like a man in a rowboat, looking back even as we move forward.

William Landay

Moving, Men, Rough Times

5 Copy quote
When I was 30 or so - by that time I had become an assistant D.A. - I decided I would try to write a novel. To be clear: I did not decide to become a novelist. Honestly, it never crossed my mind that I could actually earn a living as a professional novelist.

William Landay

Writing, Mind, Trying

4 Copy quote
At some point as adults we cease to be our parents' children and we become our children's parents instead.

William Landay

Children, Parent, Adults

William Landay (2012). “Defending Jacob: A Novel”, p.71, Delacorte Press

4 Copy quote
I am interested in computers and technology, and art, photography, and design.

William Landay

Photography, Art, Technology

4 Copy quote
I'm a bit of a tech geek myself.

William Landay

Geek, Bits

4 Copy quote
I can't say that I ever actually decided to become a writer. It kind of snuck up on me.

William Landay

Kind, Decided, I Can

4 Copy quote
Probably careful plotting reflects my personality. I am meticulous by nature. I can't imagine speed-writing anything that happens to pop into my head.

William Landay

Writing, Personality, Imagine

56 Copy quote
I don't ever write with a particular audience in mind. I just write books that please me.

William Landay

Book, Writing, Please Me

4 Copy quote
I love sports, as all Bostonians seem to. I love books and movies, as all writers seem to.

William Landay

Sports, Book, Bostonians

53 Copy quote

You May Also Like:

William Landay

Follow

Born: 1963
Occupation: Novelist
Cite this Page: Citation

Popular Topics