On Art and Artifice
Stories are lies. A novel is a big, fat lie. Why, then, do we read? To the extent that writing requires a self-deformation of character in order to tell lies regularly and convincingly why do writers write?
A story cultivates a state of uncertainty. Habitual notions of the self are suspended and the possibility of experiment becomes available
Francis McKee finds literature as a form of masquerade
The reflections of famous writers–John Le Carre and Oscar Wilde–on the lies of writing are well worth the trip. [MakingLight]