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Ian Rankin Quotes

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About Ian Rankin

Ian Rankin, a prolific Scottish crime fiction writer, was born on January 24, 1960, in Fife, Scotland. His fascination with writing began at an early age, as he started crafting short stories during his teenage years. After leaving school without any formal qualifications, Rankin worked a variety of jobs before deciding to pursue a career in writing. In 1982, he enrolled at the University of Edinburgh, where he studied English and Philosophy. While there, he met his future wife Miranda Harvey, who also shares an interest in crime fiction. It was during this time that Rankin began working on his first novel featuring Detective Inspector John Rebus. The debut novel, "Knots & Crosses," was published in 1987 and introduced the world to one of Scotland's most enduring literary characters. The success of this book marked the beginning of a long-lasting partnership between Rankin and his beloved protagonist. Over the subsequent decades, Rankin published more than 20 novels in the Rebus series, each one delving deeper into the complexities of crime and the human psyche within the context of Edinburgh's urban landscape. Rankin's writing career has not been limited to the world of Rebus. He has penned several standalone novels, including "Black & Blue" (1997), which won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, and "The Complaints" (2008), which was adapted into a television series titled "Rebus." In addition to his writing, Rankin has been actively involved in promoting Scottish culture and literature. He founded Bloody Scotland, an annual crime-writing festival held in Stirling, Scotland. Aside from being a writer, Rankin is also an Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh, University of Abertay Dundee, and Heriot-Watt University, and he holds an honorary doctorate from the Open University. Ian Rankin continues to write and contribute to the crime fiction genre, leaving a lasting impact on readers with his nuanced portrayals of crime and its effects on society.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"What you fear doing most is usually what you need to do."

This quote suggests that the tasks or actions we tend to avoid due to fear are often precisely those that hold the greatest potential for growth, self-discovery, and personal fulfillment. By confronting our fears and taking on the challenges they represent, we can develop courage, resilience, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and our capabilities. Therefore, embracing the very things we're most afraid to do can lead us toward meaningful experiences that enrich our lives.

"Crime is not a game. Real people get hurt."

This quote serves as a reminder that crime does not exist merely as a source of intrigue or entertainment; it is an action with real-life consequences. The "hurt" alluded to in the quote represents the emotional, physical, and psychological pain inflicted on victims, their families, and communities. In essence, this quote underscores the importance of taking crime seriously and approaching its resolution with compassion and understanding.

"It's like being a detective - everything's a clue."

This quote by Ian Rankin suggests that in life, as in detective work, every detail, event, or experience can potentially hold significance or serve as a 'clue'. It underscores the importance of observation and the ability to perceive patterns and connections in our surroundings, as these seemingly insignificant details may lead us to deeper understandings or solutions. This idea encourages a mindset that is curious, open, and receptive to learning from the world around us.

"The past is the past, but it's not dead and buried."

This quote suggests that the past may be over, but its impact lingers in the present. The past events shape our lives, influence our decisions, and define who we are as individuals or societies, even though they no longer exist in their original form. It encourages us to learn from history, understand its influences, and apply those lessons in moving forward.

"Every city has its demons, its ghosts. Edinburgh's just more honest about them than most places."

This quote suggests that every city has its share of problems, challenges, or dark aspects, which can be symbolically referred to as 'demons' or 'ghosts'. However, Edinburgh, Scotland, is unique in that it openly acknowledges these issues, making them a more prominent part of the city's identity than other cities might. This could imply a greater understanding and acceptance of historical events, social issues, or even supernatural folklore within the city and its inhabitants. In essence, Edinburgh is seen as a place where the truth about its past and present is not hidden or ignored but acknowledged openly.

I've always written. At the age of six or seven, I would get sheets of A4 paper and fold them in half, cut the edges to make a little eight-page booklet, break it up into squares and put in little stick men with little speech bubbles, and I'd have a spy story, a space story and a football story.

- Ian Rankin

Seven, Cut, Half, Fold

I don't think I have one particular favourite writer. I have many whose works I will always buy or reread - Muriel Spark, Anthony Powell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ruth Rendell, James Ellroy, William McIlvanney, Kate Atkinson, John Burnside, Louise Welsh, Iain Banks.

- Ian Rankin

Buy, Ruth, Works, Stevenson

Right from the very beginning, I knew I wanted to write palpably Scottish fiction.

- Ian Rankin

Beginning, Very, Wanted, Scottish

I wanted to be able to support myself without begging for handouts from the state. All of the writers I knew when I was a student were all getting grants from the Scottish Arts Council.

- Ian Rankin

Myself, Student, Grants, Scottish

My first novel was turned down by half a dozen publishers. And even after having published five or six books, I wasn't making enough money to live on, and was beginning to think I'd have to give up the dream of being a full-time writer.

- Ian Rankin

Full-Time, Half, Turned, Enough Money

My parents were working class and didn't have much money, so holidays tended to be two weeks in a caravan at St. Andrews or a B&B in Blackpool.

- Ian Rankin

Two, Weeks, Working Class, Two Weeks

I have a strong work ethic, yet I'm incredibly lazy as well. The problem with being a writer is that everything you do can be called research. Sitting in the pub is research. Reading the newspaper can be research.

- Ian Rankin

Work, Strong, Newspaper, Pub

At all times, think like a writer, and keep those antennae twitching - that way, you pick up new ideas.

- Ian Rankin

Think, New, Like, New Ideas

My father worked in a grocery store. When the grocery chain went into administration, he eventually got a job in the naval dockyard in an office preparing the charts for the boats and the submarines before they headed out.

- Ian Rankin

Father, Before, Charts, Naval

My mother worked in a school canteen - then worked in the canteen of a chicken factory. Every Friday, the pay packet money would be allocated to cover bills.

- Ian Rankin

Chicken, Pay, Factory, Friday

I'm interested in Scotland now and then, how it's changed. I want to get the reader to think about that by thinking about something from the past. How has society changed, how has policing changed, have we changed philosophically, psychologically, culturally, spiritually?

- Ian Rankin

Policing, About, Reader, Psychologically

People aren't coming to me looking for political essays or polemic - they're looking for a rattling good story.

- Ian Rankin

Political, Good Story, Rattling

I'm not qualified for anything. I've had lots of little jobs, like picking grapes and being a tax man. I can't imagine not writing, because I've done it since I was five or six. Maybe I'd work in academia. That's always what the plan was.

- Ian Rankin

Maybe, Qualified, Had, Academia

Being working class, my parents thought, 'Ian's going to uni, the first in the family,' and I'd do dentistry or accountancy. I was going to do accountancy; then I got a C in Economics and thought, 'Why am I doing this?' The only thing I was interested in was books and literature.

- Ian Rankin

Thought, Doing, Dentistry

I think writers have to be proactive: they've got to use new technology and social media. Yes, it's hard to get noticed by traditional publishers, but there's a great deal of opportunity out there if you've got the right story.

- Ian Rankin

Deal, I Think, Use, New Technology

I took the first James Kelman novel, 'The Bus Conductor Hines', home to my dad. I thought, 'My dad will like this; it's written in Scots.' But my dad said: 'I can't read that.' He was reading James Bond and John le Carre. That was part of what attracted me to crime - the idea of getting a wide audience.

- Ian Rankin

Thought, Bus, Dad, Conductor

I'm often asked how I write books, but I don't think my approach is suitable for everyone. If I walked into a creative writing class, all I could say to them was 'I tend to make it up as I go along.' I'm not sure that's brilliant advice.

- Ian Rankin

Advice, Approach, I Write, Suitable

Punk gave you a kind of chutzpah, so even trying to be a writer, I just thought, 'Well, I'm going to send poems to 'Radio Times,' short stories to the 'Observer,' just have a go.

- Ian Rankin

Thought, Going, Stories, Send

I used to think that: whenever I heard that someone had taken 10 years to write a novel, I'd think it must be a big, serious book. Now I think, 'No - it took you one year to write, and nine years to sit around eating Kit Kats.'

- Ian Rankin

Big, I Think, Nine, Kit

You need a great idea, but then you've got to carry it through. If you get it right, you're going to be a critical success. But not everyone who works hard gets it right, or has the success they deserve: there's an element of luck.

- Ian Rankin

Deserve, Through, Works, Element

I wrote 'Knots and Crosses,' the first of the Rebus books, not even realising that I was writing crime fiction.

- Ian Rankin

Fiction, Wrote, Realising, Crosses

Why does any novelist keep writing long after they've made money? Because they've failed to write the perfect novel.

- Ian Rankin

Perfect, Why, Made, Novelist

When I'm writing, I won't know whodunnit until maybe two thirds of the way through. Until then, I know as little as my detective. I just make it up as I go along. It's nerve-wracking, actually. You'll be half through and not know your conclusion. You worry one of these days the ending won't come. I'll be left with only two-thirds of a novel.

- Ian Rankin

Through, Half, Two-Thirds, Detective

I wrote my first short story for a competition and won second prize. Another competition came up and I won first prize. The first story was published in a newspaper. The second went out on radio.

- Ian Rankin

Newspaper, Another, Wrote, Published

I don't want the books to become PR exercises for the police; I want to have the freedom to write about cops who cross the line: bad cops.

- Ian Rankin

Bad, Line, Cops, Exercises

When I was in my early 20s and still at uni, I won a short-story competition: £200 was the prize.

- Ian Rankin

Still, Early 20s, Short-Story

The most difficult part of any crime novel is the plotting. It all begins simply enough, but soon you're dealing with a multitude of linked characters, strands, themes and red herrings - and you need to try to control these unruly elements and weave them into a pattern.

- Ian Rankin

Pattern, Part, Unruly, Linked

In real life, writers tend to be quite boring, but in our books, we're having exciting adventures all the time.

- Ian Rankin

Real, Having, Writers, Real Life

No matter how many awards you've won or how many sales you've got, come the next book it's still a blank sheet of paper and you're still panicking like hell that you've got nothing new to say.

- Ian Rankin

New, Next, Still, Awards

I still think most writers are just kids who refuse to grow up. We're still playing imaginary games, with our imaginary friends.

- Ian Rankin

Grow, Think, Still, Imaginary

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