Brian Selznick Quotes - Page 2

Well, everything surprises me about the writing process because illustrating comes much more naturally to me than writing does.

I guess I see a part of myself in everyone I write about. I tend to write about kids who are obsessed with something, and even though I have never been good with machines the way Hugo is, I did love miniature things when I was a kid.

I can draw pencil lines to show something is moving, but if I'm writing, I struggle with how to write it. The boy ran down the hallway? The boy ran quickly down the hallway? The boy ran down the marble hallway? I agonize over the words. So my editor works very hard. I'm lucky to have her.

I love illustrating for other writers because I am given stories I never would have thought of, and my work as an illustrator is always in support of the story.

My house had suddenly turned into a hospital ward.

In that moment, the machinery of the world lined up. Somewhere a clock struck midnight, and Hugo's future seemed to fall perfectly into place.

The idea of going to the movies made Hugo remember something Father had once told him about going to the movies when he was just a boy, when the movies were new. Hugo's father had stepped into a dark room, and on a white screen he had seen a rocket fly right into the eye of the man in the moon. Father said he had never experienced anything like it. It had been like seeing his dreams in the middle of the day.

Having an eye patch actually makes it easier to look through a camera - I don't have to close one eye like everyone else.

I majored in illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, although I never had any intention of being an illustrator and didn't take any classes in illustration there. It was just that the illustration degree had no requirements.

I've always loved children's books - it's not that I didn't like them, I just didn't think I wanted to do that. But then I suddenly realized I did.

It's fun to see how other artists adapt my work.

I think from an early age I was aware of how a camera can tell a story, how a movie camera can affect how the narrative is told.

I hope the snow covers everything so all the footsteps are silenced, and the whole city can be at peace.