Gutkind Quotes & Sayings

To reconstruct stories and scenes, nonfiction writers must conduct vigorous and responsible research. In fact, narrative requires more research than traditional reportage, for writers cannot simply tell what they learn and know; rather, they must show it. — Lee Gutkind

Most writers want to share their essay or book much too quickly. Those who accept the pain of hard work and revising are those who get published. — Lee Gutkind

I am a product of the system, I was born to destroy. — Lowkey

The myth of objectivity made nonfiction increasingly unread. In feature articles, we could be playful in the opening and clever in the end but in the middle it was back to the boring basics. — Lee Gutkind

Years ago, I met once a week, 9 A.M. sharp, with a therapist whom I will call Dr. Mason. We would settle in well-worn chairs, Dr. Mason, a slender, balding middle-ager in blazer and striped tie, and me, an anxious academic in Levi's and tweeds. — Lee Gutkind

I am a writer and editor with a passion for true storytelling. To me, science matters, research matters and knowledge matters, whatever the field. — Lee Gutkind

When I talk with my students, I introduce a process of work I call the three R's: First comes research, then real world exploration, and finally, and perhaps most important, a fact-checking review of all that has been written. — Lee Gutkind

I discovered that I, a writer of what is known as creative nonfiction, could do the research and bridge the gap in my books and lectures through true storytelling. This is not 'dumbing down' or writing for eighth graders. It is writing for readers across cultures, age barriers, social and political landscapes. — Lee Gutkind

You can't build your dream by what you're going to do or planning to do or intend to do. You only build your dream by building it. — Jeff Olson

Things are the way they are because they were the way they were. — Fred Hoyle

As writers we intend to make a difference, to alter people's lives for the greater good ... this is why we write, to have an impact on society, to put a personal stamp on history ... Art and literature are the legacies we leave to succeeding generations. We'll be forgotten, but our books and essays, our stories and poems can survive us ... — Lee Gutkind

As TV embedded itself into the national consciousness, it got us to remember how more than just the facts transmits truth and reality - and in fun, engaging ways. TV also showed us how telling our stories, confronting our own truths makes us and the people with whom we're sharing feel less lonely and alienated. — Lee Gutkind

I haven't yet made clothes that I have been totally satisfied with, and maybe I never will. — Rei Kawakubo

Teachers need to be comfortable talking about feelings. This is part of teaching emotional literacy - a set of skills we can all develop, including the ability to read, understand, and respond appropriately to one's own emotions and the emotions of others. — Daniel Goleman

The stupendous fact that we stand in the midst of Reality will always be something far more wonderful than anything we do. — Eric Gutkind

Maybe I have a one-track mind, but the best writers and thinkers are focusing on nonfiction these days; this is the genre where a writer can make a mark and change an aspect of the world - much more so than in fiction. — Lee Gutkind

Your career is your own responsibility. Your employer is not your mother. — Jurgen Appelo

The word 'creative' refers simply to the use of literary craft in presenting nonfiction - that is, factually accurate prose about real people and events - in a compelling, vivid manner. To put it another way, creative nonfiction writers do not make things up; they make ideas and information that already exist more interesting and, often, more accessible. — Lee Gutkind

That which we do for ourselves dies with us ... that which we do for others lives forever. — Albert Pike

The people who are writing online and the people in my genre of creative non-fiction exert a great deal more freedom that journalists are allowed to exert in their day-to-day work. — Lee Gutkind

The problem with reality TV is that creative writers are not involved; TV folks are, and some journalists who will only mine the surface of subjects. Hard work necessary for discovering and delineating the intimacies of the subjects they capture is mostly avoided. — Lee Gutkind

The Highways of America are built chiefly of politics, whereas the proper material is crushed rock or concrete. — Carl G. Fisher

And there are two types of stories. One type is one's own story. The other type is telling the stories of others. Thanks to this genre, writers of nonfiction can now use the tools of the reporter, the points of view and ear for dialog of a novelist, and the passion and wordplay of the poet. — Lee Gutkind

As a child, I had no interest in science whatsoever - then I started writing and recognized how relevant it was. My first book about science and medicine captured the world of organ transplantation in 1989 from the points of view of all of the participants - scientists, surgeons, social workers, organ recipients and even donor families. — Lee Gutkind

Journalists in newspapers and in many magazines are not permitted to be subjective and tell their readers what they think. Journalists have got to follow a very strict formulaic line, and here we come, these non-fiction writers, these former journalists who are using all the techniques that journalists are pretty much not allowed to use. — Lee Gutkind

I wasn't an active feminist in the '60s, never have been. — Doris Lessing

I hope his breath wasn't too bad for 'Bron.' — Paul George

Storytelling, a primitive art, is as old as the beginning of mankind. People want to receive what's out there in the form of stories, not just facts, opinion, analysis. — Lee Gutkind

This is the first lesson for writers - or anyone - who conducts interviews: If you want someone to talk, you've got to know how to listen. And good listening is a surprisingly active process. The interviewee is your focus of attention; you are there to hear what he says and thinks, exclusively. — Lee Gutkind

Nonfiction means that our stories are as true and accurate as possible. Readers expect - demand - diligence. — Lee Gutkind

Blogging has helped create an expanded awareness of the creative nonfiction genre, generally. But I suspect many bloggers continue to be unaware that they are (or have the potential to be) "literary" or "artful." — Lee Gutkind

Creative non-fiction is such a liberating genre because it allows the non-fiction writer, whether he or she be journalist or essayist, to use all of the techniques of the fiction writer and all of the ideas, creative approaches, that fiction writers get a chance to use, but they have to use it in a true story. — Lee Gutkind

Bloggers intent on self-expression which renders no service to readers don't get read. — Lee Gutkind

Then, as a child does, she grew to accept the first great absence in her life, a weaning from the sure certainty that all children are born with - that it was no country where loss could come their way, that nothing would ever change in that place called home. — Kalyan Ray

To be efficient means getting the job done in a smart, resourceful and timely way. To be effective means getting the right job done well, efficiently or not. — Thomas Leonard

The challenge in fiction is to write a terrific story. The challenge in journalism is to communicate solid, objective information. The challenge in creative non-fiction is to do it both and to do it well. — Lee Gutkind

People are afraid to think, or they don't know how. They fail to realize that, while emotions can't be suppressed, the mind can be strengthened. All over the world people are seeking peace of mind, but there can be no peace of mind without strength of mind. — Eric Gutkind

I don't want to compare myself to anyone else, but there's Paul Smith, who I think does a great job. I feel like once I sort everything to the best quality, I'll be able to compete with them. — Rob Kardashian

Is it really that much better to make friends with animals before you kill them than to treat them as nameless, faceless objects before you kill them? From a yogic point of view, one must weigh the karmic consequences of perceiving others as mere objects to be used and the consequences of profiting from the suffering of others. — Sharon Gannon

The seeds of genius are in many blogs, but bloggers lack the interest in or understanding of the difference between blogging and fully-formed literary efforts. — Lee Gutkind

A description for this result is not available because of this site's robots.txt — Google

It is easy to make stuff up - and easy to dig up information and repeat it or report it to others. But to find a real life story with real people in real life situations is quite difficult and time-consuming. Yet, the rewards are worth the effort. — Lee Gutkind