I think most writers feel like they’re on the outside looking in much of the time. All of us feel, to a certain extent, alienated from the stuff going on around us. Mark Haddon Read Quote
I don’t remember deciding to become a writer. You decide to become a dentist or a postman. For me, writing is like being gay. You finally admit that this is who you are, you come out and hope that no one runs away. Mark Haddon Read Quote
I don’t mean that literary fiction is better than genre fiction, On the contrary; novels can perform two functions and most perform only one. Mark Haddon Read Quote
I started writing books for children because I could illustrate them myself and because, in my innocence, I thought they’d be easier. Mark Haddon Read Quote
When I was writing for children, I was writing genre fiction. It was like making a good chair. However beautiful it looked, it needed four legs of the same length, it had to be the right height and it had to be comfortable. Mark Haddon Read Quote
Most of my work consisted of crossing out. Crossing out was the secret of all good writing. Mark Haddon Read Quote
I knew there was a story; once you find a dog with a fork through it, you know there’s a story there. Mark Haddon Read Quote
Bore children, and they stop reading. There’s no room for self-indulgence or showing off or setting the scene. Mark Haddon Read Quote
