Having the urge to write a novel, especially if you've yet to be published, is like having a medical condition impossible to mention in polite company - it's a relief simply to know there are fellow-sufferers out there.
Interpretation
Writing a novel can feel isolating and burdensome, yet knowing others share this struggle can be comforting.
In this quote, Robert Harris compares the desire to write a novel to a discreet medical condition, suggesting that the longing and challenges faced by aspiring authors are often taboo or difficult to discuss openly. The relief of knowing that others experience similar struggles fosters a sense of camaraderie among writers, making the journey feel less lonely and more validating.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a writer's workshop to encourage aspiring authors.
If one tries to think about history, it seems to me - it's like looking at a range of mountains. And the first time you see them, they look one way. But then time changes, the pattern of light shifts. Maybe you've moved slightly, your perspective has changed. The mountains are the same, but they look very different.
To tell a good story and to illuminate the world: the two things are completely linked. That is the point. That is what I've always wanted to do.
By writing I can live in ways that I could not survive.
Never hesitate to imitate another writer. Imitation is part of the creative process for anyone learning an art or a craft. Bach and Picasso didn't spring full-blown as Bach or Picasso; they needed models. This is especially true of writing.
It's not what you see that is art. Art is the gap.
As an artist, you dream about accumulating enough successful music to someday do just one greatest-hits album, but to reach the point where you're releasing your second collection of hits is beyond belief.
Music isn't about music, it's about life.
My art springs from my desire to have things in the world which would otherwise never be there.
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