The more we’re governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible.
– Alan Rickman
Tag: control
Quotable 195
That trite little whimsy about characters getting out of hand; it is as old as the quills. My characters are galley slaves.
– Vladimir Nabokov
Quotable 126
The writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master.
– Charlotte Brontë
Fiction: Neighborhood Meeting
Only Jerome was wavering.
“I dunno,” he said. “Y’know, that’s where all our children were conceived. Where they learned to walk. There are two hamsters buried in the back yard.”
“Jerome,” Andrew said, “we’ve all got memories like those. But the plain fact is, the memories are all we have left. It’s like when a person dies: the spirit lives on but the body is no good any more.”
“Well,” Jerome said, “we might be able to buy it back someday.”
“ ‘Might.’ ‘Someday.’” David shook his head. “That’s the same sinking boat we’re all in, Jerry.” He held up a placating hand. “Now, you don’t have to go in on this with us. No one says you have to. But it sure would be impressive. It sure would send a message to those heartless rich bastards.”