Len Wein Quotes
"I try not to violate what came before me and to leave lots of wiggle room for those who will follow."
- Len Wein
(Related: Will)
"A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else."
- Len Wein
(Related: Friend)
"A writer writes. Period. No matter if someone is buying your work or not."
- Len Wein
(Related: Work, Buying, Writer)
"I always wanted to fire rays out of my fingertips."
- Len Wein
(Related: Fire)
"I became an art major, took every art class my school had to offer. In college, I majored in Advertising Art and Design."
- Len Wein
(Related: Art, Design, Advertising, Class, College, School)
"I had never really thought of myself as a writer; any writing I had done was just to give myself something to draw."
- Len Wein
(Related: Thought, Writer, Writing)
"I hate the crazy, neurotic characters beyond a certain point."
- Len Wein
(Related: Hate)
"I think there's something inherently dishonest in trying to go back and mess with the past."
- Len Wein
(Related: Past, Trying)
"I try to find what makes even the worst, most despicable character sympathetic at his or her core."
- Len Wein
(Related: Character)
"I was a very sickly kid. While I was in the hospital at age 7, my Dad brought me a stack of comic books to keep me occupied. I was hooked."
- Len Wein
(Related: Age, Dad, Books)
"I would like immortality."
- Len Wein
(Related: Immortality)
"I'm a neurotic New York Jew by birth. Creating characters is second nature to me."
- Len Wein
(Related: Nature)
"I've always thought of myself as an organic writer, rather than a cerebral one. I feel my way along as I go, hoping I'll get to the place I intend to reach."
- Len Wein
(Related: Thought, Writer)
"I've had editors over the years who couldn't find a clue if it was stapled to their butt."
- Len Wein
(Related: Editors, Years)
"I've never sat down and thought about the difference between plot and theme. To me, that's never been important."
- Len Wein
(Related: Thought, Difference)
"The bottom line always remains the same: What is the basic humanity of the character? How do I make them resonate with the reader?"
- Len Wein
(Related: Character, Humanity)
"I realized the only thing I owed my audience was my own judgment and my own best effort."
- Len Wein
(Related: Effort, Judgment)
"If a story isn't working, I'm simply unable to finish it. That's what usually tells me something is wrong."
- Len Wein
(Related: Wrong)
"These days, it seems that if you're not already in place, you can't get there from here."
- Len Wein
"The most unrealistic thing I've ever read in comics is when some group of characters calls themselves the Brotherhood of Evil or the Masters of Evil. I don't believe any character believes their goals to be truly evil."
- Len Wein
(Related: Character, Goals, Brotherhood, Evil)
"Unfortunately, there are writers whose only concern is how good they could make themselves look on a title."
- Len Wein
(Related: Concern, Writers)
"Sometimes you're not even sure which of your stories were failures. There are things I've written that I thought were complete catastrophes when I finished with them that have gone on to generate some of my most positive feedback."
- Len Wein
(Related: Thought, Positive, Catastrophes)
"Were there stories I wrote along the way that were terrible clinkers? God, yes. But they were all a product of their time, and I did the best I could."
- Len Wein
(Related: God, Time)
"People who were more concerned with themselves and looking good to their readers then they were with the characters sacrificed a series for the sake of a story."
- Len Wein
(Related: People)
"Lord of the Rings, I think, is far and away the most brilliantly done stuff."
- Len Wein
"It's all about who's where on the food chain. When I'm the story editor, I expect my writers to follow my vision. When I'm working for another editor, I'm obliged to follow their vision."
- Len Wein
(Related: Food, Vision, Writers)
"It all depends on which side of the desk you're sitting on."
- Len Wein
"In these litigious times, if you're a beginner, it's becoming harder and harder to get your work to the people who might actually be able to hire you."
- Len Wein
(Related: Work, People)
"In general, shorter is better. If you can encapsulate your idea into a single captivating sentence, you're halfway home."
- Len Wein
(Related: Home, Idea)
"There is an ancient legend which warns that, should we ever learn our true origin, our universe will instantly be destroyed."
- Len Wein
(Related: Universe, Will)
"When someone writes to tell me something I've written made them laugh or cry, I've done my job and done it well. The rest is all semantics."
- Len Wein
(Related: Job, Rest, Semantics)
"You can read a dozen different textbooks or how-to manuals that will tell you the basic rules of what makes a story - a beginning, a middle, and an end."
- Len Wein
(Related: Beginning, End, Rules, Will)
"When I got my first glimpse of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, my breath caught. In that single instant, he was Wolverine."
- Len Wein
(Related: First)
"What makes a story is how well it manages to connect with the reader, the visceral effect it has."
- Len Wein
(Related: Effect)
"When I'm my own editor, there's very little difference between the first draft and the final. I write what feels right to begin with. I rarely make any major changes."
- Len Wein
(Related: Difference, Draft, First, Right)