Michael Morpurgo Quotes

When I sit down I write very fast ... if I haven't finished a book in two or three months then I think it's not going well. — Michael Morpurgo

Wars become history all too soon and are forgotten all too soon as well, before the lessons can be learned. — Michael Morpurgo

It's good to focus on the universal suffering that goes on in any war. Whatever the right and wrongs of the war, there is always universal suffering. — Michael Morpurgo

Anything that gets children reading is fine. — Michael Morpurgo

I think I have always had a strong sense of justice, of fair play, of what is right and what is wrong. — Michael Morpurgo

To write something you have to feel it and know it, and that's not comfortable. — Michael Morpurgo

I'm a big fan of Michael Morpurgo. — Celine Buckens

If it is possible to be happy in the middle of a nightmare, then Topthorn and I were happy that summer. — Michael Morpurgo

Some writers - most, I suspect - write in isolation. I think I'd always found that quite difficult. — Michael Morpurgo

Characters are the key to a good book. It took me several novels to comprehend that. — Michael Morpurgo

our home should be an oasis of peace and harmony for us in a troubled world, — Michael Morpurgo

I'm still not sure I want to be a writer. I think of myself as a storyteller more. — Michael Morpurgo

We fought back with our music; it was the only weapon we had. — Michael Morpurgo

Secrets are lies by another name. — Michael Morpurgo

He laughed to himself he said because if he did not laugh he would cry. — Michael Morpurgo

There's room for all sorts of magic and miracles in this world - that's what I think. — Michael Morpurgo

Genuinely good people are like that. The sun shines out of them. They warm you right through. — Michael Morpurgo

I must survive. I have promises to keep. — Michael Morpurgo

Something I learn every time I stand in front of a bunch of children, I learn never, never to underestimate them or patronise them. — Michael Morpurgo

Why does this war have to destroy anything and everything that's fine and beautiful? — Michael Morpurgo

Books that kids read should be about what is going on in the world. — Michael Morpurgo

Tonight, I want very much to believe that there's a heaven, that death is not a full stop, and that we will all see one another again. — Michael Morpurgo

that was the only way of keeping our hopes alive, by looking beyond all we were seeing around us, and the shadow of disaster that hung over us. — Michael Morpurgo

Only the best books are special. Why? Because they open our eyes, touch us, excite us, extend us. — Michael Morpurgo

When you're young you can't work out the age of an adult - they're just quite old, old, or very old. — Michael Morpurgo

Don't worry about writing a book or getting famous or making money. Just lead an interesting life. — Michael Morpurgo

I got married young, far too young, but it is fine. We are still married 48 years later. I got married at 19. — Michael Morpurgo

Children have to be motivated to want to learn to read. Reading must not be taught simply as a school exercise. — Michael Morpurgo

Paying more heed to the lessons of the past might teach us to be a little more cautious about some of the political decisions taken today. — Michael Morpurgo

And then quite suddenly I found that I had no rider, that I had no weight on my back, and that I was alone out in front of the squadron. — Michael Morpurgo

By the time I sit down and face the blank page I am raring to go. I tell it as if I'm talking to my best friend or one of my grandchildren. — Michael Morpurgo

Even then, as I stood there, that first morning, filled with apprehension at the terrifying implications of my dreadful situation, — Michael Morpurgo

When people make wars, they make refugees. — Michael Morpurgo

Any problem can be solved between people if only they can trust each other — Michael Morpurgo

When I was very little my mother would read to me in bed. She gave me a fascination for stories, and for the music in words. — Michael Morpurgo

A notion for a story is for me a confluence of real events, historical perhaps, or from my own memory to create an exciting fusion. — Michael Morpurgo

After this night is over, then you can drift away, they you can sleep for ever, for nothing will ever matter again. — Michael Morpurgo

I tried to smile back, but no smile came, only tears. — Michael Morpurgo

But I didn't dare. That has always been my trouble. I've never dared enough. — Michael Morpurgo

She was looking out of the window — Michael Morpurgo

There's a nobility in his eye, a regal serenity about him. Does he not personify all that men try to be and never can be? — Michael Morpurgo

I fill up the well of stories in my head - without ever knowing I'm doing it. — Michael Morpurgo

I think there's something about studying a book which will kill it if you're not careful. — Michael Morpurgo

Admitting failure is quite cleansing, but never - pleasurable. — Michael Morpurgo

It's no good wishing for the impossible. Don't wish. Remember. Remembrances are real. — Michael Morpurgo

But try as I might, I never got to eat any of her pastries, and do you know, she never even offered me one. — Michael Morpurgo

I write fiction. I make things up, it's what I do. — Michael Morpurgo

It's the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom. — Michael Morpurgo

The big relationships you make in your life are with those that you love and if things do go wrong then it's a source of great pain and that lasts. — Michael Morpurgo

Life must not be spent always hoping, always waiting. Life is for living. -Kensuke — Michael Morpurgo

If there's one thing I can't abide it's fanatics of any kind, and religious ones are the worst of all. — Michael Morpurgo

If I learned anything in this life, I've learned that you can't cling on. — Michael Morpurgo

Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children. — Michael Morpurgo

Live an interesting life. Meet people. Read a lot and widely, learn from the great writers. — Michael Morpurgo

It is the child's understanding that teaches the adults the way of the future. They're still doing it today with modern technology. — Michael Morpurgo

As a young child my attention span was, as I remember it, rather short. — Michael Morpurgo

I could believe only in the hell I was living in, a hell on earth, and it was man-made, not God-made. — Michael Morpurgo

Good experiences give us happiness but bad experiences teach us good lessons — Michael Morpurgo

cause when there's life there's still hope — Michael Morpurgo

Always write your ideas down however silly or trivial they might seem. Keep a notebook with you at all times. — Michael Morpurgo

Stories make you think and dream; books make you want to ask questions — Michael Morpurgo

Being his real brother I could feel I live in his shadows, but I never have and I do not now. I live in his glow. — Michael Morpurgo

I am a story as well as a happening, and I want my story to be known, — Michael Morpurgo

I can hate you more, but I'll never love you less. — Michael Morpurgo

he's a fine, fine horse, — Michael Morpurgo

Remember to write for yourself, not for a market and give yourself time to develop your own style, your own voice. It takes a lifetime. Enjoy it! — Michael Morpurgo

You know, I really wish now I'd had the nerve to become an actor. Because I'd have been Robert Redford, no question. — Michael Morpurgo

I knew the story of 'War Horse' very well. I had read the book even before I did the auditions. I'm a big fan of Michael Morpurgo. — Celine Buckens