Thomas P. Campbell Quotes

Because I've been a full professor doing research and lecturing at the University of California, I didn't have a lot of time to write, so I have always used my unconscious a great deal to do the really heavy lifting.

Research professors don't watch a whole lot of TV.

Like all former thinkers, I'm writing a book.

I don't think there's a difference between writing for a newspaper or magazine and doing a chapter in a book.

I always swore I would never write a book. But I read Clare Balding's and it was really interesting and so prettily written and lovely and not too revealing. I went to her book launch and met her editor who said 'why don't you think about it? You can do it however you want, based on your characters or you.'

It wasn't until after college that I started writing. I had just applied randomly for jobs in the media and got one on a magazine called 'Pensions World.' So I was writing for a living there and that's when I started my first book.

Maybe philosophy - I love talking about ideas. Or maybe art history. I was thinking about psychology, then I got really afraid because everybody says it's terribly boring.

Typically, a book takes me about a year to write.

When I began, I thought that the way one should work was to do all the research and then write the book.

While it was a very interesting period in my life, I was happy to get back to more direct contact with students in the classroom and in my research projects.

When I started writing about art, there were no curators.

I have a longstanding fascination with visual art. I do, in fact, draw as well, as I did in 'The Summer without Men.' I also write essays about visual art.

I like the idea of trying to write a book in every genre.

I suppose I have the tastes of someone who teaches at a university in the provinces.

I wanted to see if I could write a good book.

Oh you know, I've been writing a novel.

The minimum I need is six months to allow for dithering, procrastination and the research. The research times varies from book to book; some are faster because they're based off resources I have at my disposal.

I don't want to sound pretentious, but I love art, I like to go to museums, and I like to read books.

I have more than 100 legal pads filled with handwriting. Eight novels, two books for children, countless stories and essays.

I did not end up as broadly educated as my Cambridge colleagues, but I graduated probably better equipped to write a book on my chosen subject.

I'm an author. And writers write books. And writing books is a full-time career.

I was a history major at Princeton University; I took exams in war and diplomacy, and I find those things very fascinating.

When I began to write and used a typewriter, I went through three drafts of a book before showing it to an editor.

I enjoy journalism; anybody does. You see the results immediately; you've got an immediate audience instead of having to wait for your audience as you do if you're writing a book, and you get a bit of money coming in, and you can see more clearly how you're paying the bills. But it's not a good position for the serious novelist to be in.

I miss the reference section at the library. I used to go there twice a week on missions. Now everywhere's a research library and I can't get an elitist kick from it any more.