Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I write I keep looking for casualties. The stories uncover the casualties.", Eighth Series, ed. George Plimpton, 1988)

John Irving
Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I...
About This Quote

Ernest Hemingway was a prolific short story writer, novelist, and journalist. He is most famous for his novel "A Farewell to Arms" and for his nonfiction books about the expatriate life in Paris. His most famous quote is, "Writing a novel is actually searching for victims.", where he explains that he looks for someone to write about when writing fiction. When writing about people, Hemingway says, "I try to get the smallest, most helpless person that I can find and then I try to build my whole novel around that one person." You can also consider this quote as a symbol of the importance of finding the perfect victim to write about.

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  1. It´s natural to want someone you love to do what you want, or what you think would be good for them, but you have to let everything happen to them. You can't interfere with people you love any more than you're supposed to interfere with...
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