Scarlett Thomas Quotes

Quotes about:

People make events into stories. Stories give events meaning.

Scarlett Thomas

People, Giving, Events

Scarlett Thomas (2012). “Going Out”, p.20, Canongate Books

46 Copy quote
What folly takes light through ether to each eye from every horizon.

Scarlett Thomas

Eye, Light, Horizon

Scarlett Thomas (2008). “The End Of Mr. Y”, p.30, Canongate Books

8 Copy quote
Homeopathy seemed . . . both mathematical and poetic.

Scarlett Thomas

Poetic, Mathematical, Homeopathy

15 Copy quote
Routine kills creative thought.

Scarlett Thomas

Creative, Routine, Creative Thought

Scarlett Thomas (2009). “PopCo”, p.15, Canongate Books

15 Copy quote
I always got a bit pissed off with those broadsheet sceptics who make their living being passionately angry about homeopathy, God, synchronicity or whatever, because it's as if they can't get past their emotions, and in their rage they become as faith-driven as the beliefs they criticise. I always said they give scientists a bad name. After all, science has to be about asking unthinkable questions, not closing down debate.

Scarlett Thomas

Past, Names, Giving

22 Copy quote
Some writers, notably Anton Chekov, argue that all characters must be admirable, because once we've looked at anyone deeply enough and understood their motivation we must identify with them rather than judge them.

Scarlett Thomas

Motivation, Character, Judging

Scarlett Thomas (2012). “Monkeys with Typewriters: How to Write Fiction and Unlock the Secret Power of Stories”, p.36, Canongate Books

8 Copy quote
For other people, love is like some rare orchid that can only grow in one place under a certain set of conditions. For me it's like bindweed. It grows with no encouragement at all, under any conditions, and just strangles everything else.

Scarlett Thomas

Encouragement, Love Is, Orchids

Scarlett Thomas (2010). “Our Tragic Universe”, p.105, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

111 Copy quote
Living for ever would be like marrying yourself, with no possibility of a divorce.

Scarlett Thomas

Divorce, Would Be, Possibility

Scarlett Thomas (2010). “Our Tragic Universe”, p.7, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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I erased the thought from my mind, but I couldn't undo the fact that I'd had the thought in the first place.

Scarlett Thomas

Mind, Firsts, Facts

Scarlett Thomas (2010). “Our Tragic Universe”, p.152, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

4 Copy quote
The sky was the colour of sad weddings.

Scarlett Thomas

Sky, Colour

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Over to my left is the big grey wall in front of the church. Are we the Thoughts of God? a poster asks. No, I realise. It's the reverse.

Scarlett Thomas

Wall, Church, Posters

Scarlett Thomas (2008). “The End Of Mr. Y”, p.363, Canongate Books

4 Copy quote
If something wants to be a story, it will be.

Scarlett Thomas

Stories, Want, Ifs

Scarlett Thomas (2008). “The End Of Mr. Y”, p.292, Canongate Books

4 Copy quote
I wonder if the reason I tend to say yes to everything is because I deeply believe that I can survive anything.

Scarlett Thomas

Believe, Wonder, Reason

Scarlett Thomas (2008). “The End Of Mr. Y”, p.102, Canongate Books

6 Copy quote
But I quite like the way you can talk about science without necessarily using mathematics, but using metaphors instead.

Scarlett Thomas

Way, Metaphor, Mathematics

Scarlett Thomas (2008). “The End Of Mr. Y”, p.26, Canongate Books

4 Copy quote
I'm a great believer in gathering together all your obsessions and seeing if you can make a novel out of them.

Scarlett Thomas

Writing, Together, Gathering

21 Copy quote
I hate stereotypes and I hate cliche.

Scarlett Thomas

Hate, Stereotype, Cliche

4 Copy quote
Honesty and authenticity are a big deal for me.

Scarlett Thomas

Honesty, Authenticity, Bigs

4 Copy quote
Real life is physical. Give me books instead. Give me the invisibility of the contents of books, the thoughts, the ideas, the images. Let me become part of a book. . . . an intertextual being: a book cyborg, or, considering that books aren't cybernetic, perhaps a bibliorg.

Scarlett Thomas

Real, Book, Ideas

Scarlett Thomas (2008). “The End Of Mr. Y”, p.134, Canongate Books

4 Copy quote
Most people would look at an animal in a cage and instinctively feel that it should be set free. . . . It's a dangerous world out there, filled with predators. . . . What would you prefer? A comfortable, safe, warm, cosy life in a cage, or an uncertain life of freedom.

Scarlett Thomas

Animal, Dangerous World, People

Scarlett Thomas (2012). “Going Out”, p.6, Canongate Books

5 Copy quote
One of the biggest problems for beginning writers is this need to over-explain.

Scarlett Thomas

Needs, Problem, Beginning Writers

Scarlett Thomas (2012). “Monkeys with Typewriters: How to Write Fiction and Unlock the Secret Power of Stories”, p.215, Canongate Books

5 Copy quote
In real life nothing means anything. Stuff happens and there just is no structure.

Scarlett Thomas

Real, Mean, Stuff Happens

Scarlett Thomas (2012). “Going Out”, p.20, Canongate Books

4 Copy quote
Sometimes you have to trust grownups, perhaps more so when they are not there to actually supervise you.

Scarlett Thomas

Sometimes, Grownups

Scarlett Thomas (2009). “PopCo”, p.97, Canongate Books

4 Copy quote
One of the paradoxes of writing is that when you write non-fiction everyone tries to prove that it's wrong, and when you publish fiction, everyone tries to see the truth in it.

Scarlett Thomas

Writing, Trying, Fiction

Scarlett Thomas (2010). “Our Tragic Universe”, p.351, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

4 Copy quote
You tell them what a happy ending consists of, which is always individual success. You tell them that nothing irrational exists in this world, which is a lie. You tell them that conflict only exists only to be neatly resolved, and that everyone who is poor wants to be rich, and everyone who is ill wants to get better, and everyone who gets involved in crime comes to a bad end, and that love should be pure. You tell them that despite all this they are special, that the world revolves around them.

Scarlett Thomas

Lying, Special, Get Better

Scarlett Thomas (2010). “Our Tragic Universe”, p.88, Canongate Books

4 Copy quote
Homeopaths argue that water has a memory.

Scarlett Thomas

Memories, Water, Arguing

4 Copy quote

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Born: 1972
Occupation: Author
Cite this Page: Citation

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