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Had she never been hungry enough to eat a flower? Did she not know that you could eat daisies, daylilies, pansies, and marigolds?

Adam Johnson

The urge to create a fictional narrative is a mysterious one, and when an idea comes, the writer’s sense of what a story wants to be is only vaguely visible through the penumbra of inspiration.
ADAM JOHNSON

Come Create Fictional Idea Inspiration Mysterious Narrative Sense Stories Visible Write
But, in North Korea, it’s just the opposite. There’s one story. It’s written by the Kim regime. And 23 million people are conscripted to be secondary characters.
ADAM JOHNSON

Character Conscripted Country Job Opposite Secondary Story Written
Writing is hard work, and if anything’s true about the process, it’s that fact that a good story is hard to find and even trickier to get on paper.
ADAM JOHNSON

Anything Character Good Hard Process Story Work Writing
[I]n communism, you’d threaten a dog into compliance, while in capitalism, obedience is obtained through bribes.
ADAM JOHNSON

Bribe Communism Dog Obedience Obtained Socialism Threaten
But people do things to survive, and then after they survive, they can’t live with what they’ve done.
ADAM JOHNSON

After Done Live People Survive Thing
All the human actions we think of as essential to a character – had be censored by the self lest they be punished by the state.
ADAM JOHNSON

Action Censored Character Essential Human Punish State
Life brings what it brings. I might be young but I’ve learnt this: prepare for each blind corner with your strongest shoulder dropped, ready to smash through whatever is thrown at you next.
ADAM JOHNSON

Blind Bring Corner Dropped Dust Each Learnt Life Motivational Prepare Smash Stronger Taken
And secretly, he’d be wise to start practicing the piano. For us, the story is more important than the person. If a man and his story are in conflict, it is the man who must change.
ADAM JOHNSON

Change Conflict Important Paino Practsing Secretly Story Wise
I thought that, with so much current attention focused on the topic of North Korea, I might share what I think are three books which cast a rare light on the elusive realm of North Korea.
ADAM JOHNSON

Attention Book Current Focused Light Share Thinking Topic
Where we are from… [s]tories are factual. If a farmer is declared a music virtuoso by the state, everyone had better start calling him maestro.
ADAM JOHNSON

Declared Factual Farmer Maestro Man Music Piano State Stories Virtuoso Wise
Conjure up all the strength you have and drive through whatever it is keeping you on your knees. Build up the strength and your knees may never buckle again!
ADAM JOHNSON

Again Buckle Conjure Drive Keeping Knee Strength
Use your imagination only on the future, never on the present or the past.
ADAM JOHNSON

Future Imagination never Past Present Use
Orphans are the only ones who get to choose their fathers, and they love them twice as much.
ADAM JOHNSON

Choose Father Love Much One Orphan Twice
To keep someone alive, you put them inside you, you put their face on your heart. Then, no matter where you are, they’re always with you because they’re a part of you.”
ADAM JOHNSON

Alive Always Face Heart Inside Matter Part Someone
I’d known that the visit would be highly scripted and that genuine interactions with citizens wouldn’t be possible, since it’s illegal for them to speak with foreigners.
ADAM JOHNSON

Citizen Country Genuine Highly Illegal InterAction Scripted Unique Visit
. . . nobody every taught you loyalty . . .
ADAM JOHNSON

Every Loyalty Nobody Taught

Had she never been hungry enough to eat a flower? Did she not know that you could eat daisies, daylilies, pansies, and marigolds?

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Had she never been hungry enough to eat a flower? Did she not know that you could eat daisies, daylilies, pansies, and marigolds?

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Popular Authors

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