I love sentences that make you pause for all the right reasons.
When I’m reading a particularly savory sentence, I’ve been known to stop there in the story and just read it again, letting the meaning sink in. Now, slowing down your reading is generally the OPPOSITE of what authors are trying to do. We genuinely want readers to devour our books. Often, people only slow down when they find an error or something else pulls them out of the story.
However, I try in each of my books to make an effort in each emotional section of prose, to make one quotable statement. Have you ever noticed authors doing this on social media or in their newsletters? They will take a pretty image and put a quote from the book on it? I’ve done that a few times. The goal is to make you curious about what is inside. How could that quote fit into the larger picture of the story?
I gathered a few famous quotes from famous authors as examples. Do you have any favorite quotes from books?
For those who have difficulty reading images, it says: “Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.” -Louis L’Amour
I find this to be so true. The better the book is, the more it sticks with me. I spent literal years trying to recall the name of a book I read in high school. I couldn’t recall the name of it, but could recall parts of it. Especially the parts that touched me. The book actually has the easiest name in the world, but I couldn’t recall it, The Good Earth.
Tolkien has some of the best quotes. Well, his bestie C.S. Lewis had some too, but I think they basically acted as critique partners as well as friends, so that makes sense. This quote reads: “Not all those who wander are lost.” J. R. R. Tolkien
Last, but not least, from the lovely Louisa May Alcott, “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” This from the amazing Little Women.
So, if you are a collector of quotes or just recall the titles of books that had some delicious prose, please share them with us!