I Love This Quote by Gordon Lish
“[Your book is not about] what happens to the people on the page: it’s about what happens to readers in their hearts and minds”
~ Gordon Lish
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When I first read this quote, I felt one hundred per cent agreement. I thought, “Wow, that’s so true!”
And then, I thought, “Yes, but the two aren’t wholly disconnected. They can’t be, because in order for something to happen to readers’ hearts and minds, something of reasonable moment does have to happen on the page.”
Nonetheless, the quote speaks to me because I feel that a story can’t just be a matter of ‘this happened, then this happened, and then that happened.’ It’s all about the feeling, within and between the characters, which in turn works on the reader, to engage, or repel, or enthrall, depending on the story…
So I come back to loving the quote! 🙂
In terms of who Gordon Lish is, he is an American writer and editor, born in 1934, with a long career as editor with outlets/organisations such as Esquire, Knopf, and the Quarterly.
