Douglas Preston Quotes

I like semi-torn-down places where I could get nestled in and get something done without anyone bothering me.

You can write anytime people will leave you alone and not interrupt you.

When I'm alone, I can sleep crossways in bed without an argument.

I need complete silence when I write.

I need an office and a place I can sit down to get away from television and just write.

I have a very beautiful room that in my house that we bought in Princeton. It's glass on three sides, and you'd think that's the perfect place to write. Somehow in that nice room I feel too exposed, and I can notice I'm too distracted by things going on, so I end up writing in a not-very-nice office bedroom.

I can't write if someone else is in the house, not even the cleaning woman.

Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.

I could type in a closet and be fine. It's just a matter of cocooning myself. Just me and the story.

I'm not one of those who can listen to music and write. I need the door closed. Windows shut. Facing the wall. No birds tweeting, views of nature, and so forth.

When I'm sitting at my drafting table in my studio, I could really be anywhere.

Inside the car is truly my own personal space.

I lock myself up in the apartment when I am writing a script. There's no phone, no Wi-Fi, no distractions whatsoever.

When I have the ball at my feet, I'm in different world.

I get into a zone where I'm really in my own world when I make music.

I do better in life when my world seems a little smaller.

It's hard to describe why one room and not another feels right for writing. Of course you have to train yourself to be able to write anywhere, but it's nice to feel that each book has a place that belongs to it, where it's home.

I like to shower for a really long time; that's a distraction-free zone for me.

I'd rather be left to my own private life as much as be possible.

Mostly, I'm totally happy in my own space at home with the door closed with my family and friends.

Nouns are seldom improved by the modifier 'public.' Few of us, given a private alternative, prefer public restrooms or public transportation or public displays of affection.

Is there nowhere in an American house where one may be by one's self?

I would love to stay alone when I'm creating.

Blessed books—they’re a place to be alone, and no one else can come in.

This is the only naked man that will ever be in my bedroom.