"I really enjoy writing novels. It's like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off"
- Denis Johnson
About this Quote
This quote by Denis Johnson talks to the innovative liberty that features composing novels. It is a metaphor for the open-endedness of the imaginative process. Composing a book resembles developing a boat and taking off on the ocean. There is no set destination, no fixed path, and no limits to what can be explored. The author is free to check out the depths of their imagination and produce something entirely brand-new. The ocean is huge and mystical, therefore is the creative procedure of writing a novel. It is a journey of discovery, and the author is the captain of their own ship. The possibilities are unlimited, and the journey is filled with surprises. Composing a book is an experience, and Denis Johnson records this feeling perfectly.
"On embarking to return we could perceive no sign of One Tree Island; and as we swept down towards the sea the leafy top of a tree seen in the clear water under the boat was the only evidence of its existence; though a few hours ago it had formed so prominent an object"
"He said there is 80 of us, ready to come down and the next thing I knew is that Jo Brown dashed in and said your family has already moved and you have to move, the boat is ready to take you out. I didn't have time to ask, even ask a question"
"When I came off the boat I was very proud of the thick calluses which had developed on my feet. But now, I am struggling to get into my favourite high heels which is a shame, as I have so many"
"It's easier in some ways being on the life raft and the other guy's in the boat and you can row alongside and be supportive. In some ways, that's an easier role"
"Although I wasn't able to get a visa for Vietnam, I was able to talk with swift boat veterans to get a feel for the time and place, and I visited a tropical prison in the Philippines to get a sense of what a Vietnamese prison might have been like"
"'Weary Willie' is very real to me. He is a man who has given up. The boat has gone and left him. The cards are stacked against him. He's content to make out with what he's got. He knows he'll go no further"
