E. L. Doctorow : (9)

" I have a number of vices, one of which is moderation. " - E. L. Doctorow

" Here’s how it goes: I’m up at the stroke of 10 or 10:30. I have breakfast and read the papers, and then it’s lunchtime. Then maybe a little nap after lunch and out to the gym, and before I know it, it’s time to have a drink. " - E. L. Doctorow

" The writer isn’t made in a vacuum. Writers are witnesses. The reason we need writers is because we need witnesses to this terrifying century. " - E. L. Doctorow

" In fiction, you know, there are no borders. You can go anywhere. " - E. L. Doctorow

" The important thing is not to be too comfortable when you’re writing. Noise in the street? That’s good. The computer goes down? That’s good. All these things are good. It has to be a little bit of a struggle. " - E. L. Doctorow

" Somewhere along the line the rhythms and tonalities of music elided in my brain with the sounds that words make and the rhythm that sentences have. " - E. L. Doctorow

" My books start almost before I realise it. Once in a while, some accident causes an idea to rise to the surface and say: ‘now.’ " - E. L. Doctorow

" When you’re writing a book, you don’t really think about it critically. You don’t want to know too well what you’re doing. First, you write the book, then you find the justification for it. " - E. L. Doctorow

" I began to ask two questions while I was reading a book that excited me: not only what was going to happen next, but how is this done? How is it that these words on the page make me feel the way I’m feeling? This is the line of inquiry that I think happens in a child’s mind, without him even knowing he has aspirations as a writer. " - E. L. Doctorow