Patrick Ness
Patrick Ness
Patrick Nessis an American author, journalist and lecturer who moved to London at age of 28 and now holds dual citizenship. He is best known for his books for young adults, including the Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionYoung Adult Author
Date of Birth17 October 1971
CountryUnited States of America
Patrick Ness quotes about
magical novel purely slightly somehow
The magical and fantastical isn't something I'm uncomfortable with in books, and I chafe slightly at the idea that a purely realist novel somehow has more value.
available few meet readers shock time
I meet blind and partially-sighted young readers all the time, and it's a shock that so few books are available to them.
badly fiction narrative popular
I think the reason teenage fiction is so popular with adults is that adults hunger for narrative just as badly as teenagers do.
air job paid stuff
It's fun being paid to read stuff and air your opinion about it - pretty much a dream job for a writer.
age genre needs snob
It's really important to me not to be a snob about age division or about genre or whatever. The story needs to be what the story needs to be.
cynical truth
The world is cynical and sarcastic, but that doesn't mean that that's always the truth.
best trying
When I'm writing, I'm just in it and trying to figure out what seems best.
anybody call express fan folk gives great heavy means people wants wonderful
Anything that anybody wants to give me is great! I've had folk songs, heavy metal songs, jewellery... I would never call anything any fan gives me weird, as it's how people express what they like about the books, what it means to them, and that's a wonderful thing.
four general respond scenes start three
For me, when I start a novel, I only have a general sense of what I am going to do - usually three or four big scenes or something to which I can really respond emotionally.
attention exactly nobody pay purposely push
I don't purposely push the boundaries... I think if you pay attention to a story, it will have exactly as much 'difficult material' as it needs, and nobody will complain about it because you've earnt it.
avoid bring course describing people stuff
I try to avoid describing one interpretation of my books. Of course I have an opinion. I have things I want to say, but I don't ever want to limit anybody, to have them say, 'Oh, he said this, so that's what it's about.' I'm happy people bring their own stuff to it.
best helps hold onto stick
I'm a long distance runner, and I get my best ideas when I'm out running. It also helps that I can't write it down immediately - if you hold onto an idea, other things will stick on it.
responsibility choices
To say you have no choice is to relieve yourself of responsibility.
choices never-let-go
We are the choices we make.