Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart.
Jane YolenRead
What makes a good book? Scholars and critics have been debating that question for decades. I like books that touch my head and my heart at the same time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A good book resonates both intellectually and emotionally.
Jane Yolen emphasizes that the essence of a good book lies in its ability to engage both the intellect and the emotions of the reader. This dual impact creates a deeper connection, allowing the reader to find both understanding and feeling within the pages, making the reading experience more enriching and fulfilling.
Themes
BooksReadingEmotionIntellectLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussion about character development and prose style.
More from Jane Yolen
All quotes →I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told.
Jane YolenRead
Just write. If you have to make a choice, if you say, 'Oh well, I'm going to put the writing away until my children are grown,' then you don't really want to be a writer. If you want to be a writer, you do your writing... If you don't do it, you probably don't want to be a writer, you just want to have written and be famous—which is very different.
Jane YolenRead
I believe that culture begins in the cradle . . .To do without tales and stories and books is to lose humanity's past, is to have no star map for our future.
Jane YolenRead
Childrens books change lives. Stories pour into the hearts of children and help make them what they become.
Jane YolenRead
Folklore is the perfect second skin. From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world.
Jane YolenRead
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My elaboration of the story always conforms to the reality at its source. It is always close to the world, the life, the reality it describes. No matter where I go, I’m still holding up a mirror.
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The picture is all he feels about it, all he thinks worth preserving of it, all he invests it with. If all the qualities which a painter took from the model for his picture were really taken, no person could be painted twice.
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Everything great in the world comes from neurotics. They alone have founded our religions and composed our masterpieces.
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It still amazes and fascinates me that women of color have kept my work alive for these many generations.
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