Richard Price Quotes

Powerful Richard Price for Daily Growth

About Richard Price

Richard Price, a prolific novelist, screenwriter, and television producer, was born on December 19, 1949, in New York City. Raised in the working-class neighborhood of Jersey City, New Jersey, Price's upbringing played a significant role in shaping his gritty, realistic, and socially conscious writing style. Price earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 1971 and later attended Yale Law School. However, he left law school to pursue a career in writing, which proved to be a fruitful decision. His debut novel, "The Wanderers" (1974), was a seminal work that captured the lives of Italian-American teenagers in 1960s Jersey City, drawing from his personal experiences growing up in the area. In the 1980s, Price ventured into screenwriting, collaborating with Martin Scorsese on the critically acclaimed films "The Color of Money" (1986) and "Sea of Love" (1989). His work in film also includes "Mad Dog and Glory" (1993), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Price returned to novels with "Bloodbrothers" (1989), a crime novel set against the backdrop of New York's drug wars. His other notable works include "Clockers" (1992), which earned him the National Book Award, and "Lush Life" (2008). In addition to his fiction work, Price has made significant contributions to television. He co-created the critically acclaimed series "The Wire," for which he won a Peabody Award. His other TV credits include "New York Undercover," "Cold Case," and "Homicide: Life on the Street." Richard Price continues to be recognized as a master of urban fiction, blending social commentary with compelling narratives that resonate deeply with readers and audiences alike.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Life is a novel, and we're all just trying to write the best story we can."

This quote suggests that life is like a novel, an ongoing narrative filled with twists, turns, and character development. Just as authors strive to create compelling stories with well-rounded characters, we each attempt to live our lives in the most meaningful and impactful way possible – crafting our own personal narratives. The metaphor highlights that life is a creative endeavor, where each of us has the opportunity (and responsibility) to shape our own story. Moreover, it emphasizes that despite the many challenges and uncertainties we may face, embracing this perspective encourages resilience, growth, and self-expression.


"The more you learn about people, the more you realize that everyone has their reasons."

This quote emphasizes the depth of understanding that comes with knowing a person well. It suggests that as we delve deeper into someone's life, we begin to recognize that each individual has unique experiences, motivations, and reasons shaping their actions and behaviors. In essence, it underscores the importance of empathy, patience, and non-judgmental understanding in our interactions with others.


"Everyone thinks they know what they want until life shows them otherwise."

This quote highlights the human tendency to have preconceived notions about our desires and aspirations, which often appear clear and unwavering in our minds before we encounter real-life experiences. However, as life unfolds, we might discover that our initial understanding of what we want is not fully accurate or may need to be revised based on new knowledge, challenges, and perspectives. Essentially, it suggests that our perceptions can be shaped and transformed by the twists and turns of life itself.


"You can't help what you feel any more than you can help the color of your eyes."

This quote underscores the idea that emotions, like eye color, are inherent traits that individuals cannot control or change at will. It suggests a level of acceptance for personal feelings, emphasizing that just as we cannot alter our eye color, we should acknowledge and respect our own emotional responses.


"The truth is never simple, and it always finds you out in the end."

This quote suggests that truth is often complex and multifaceted, and it will eventually reveal itself despite any attempts to hide or distort it. The implication is that one should be honest and sincere as deception rarely proves sustainable over time, and the truth has a way of surfacing.


I do small cameos here and there but nothing that requires more than a paragraph of talking, because I'm just an amateur. The movie is a whole different reality.

- Richard Price

Small, Here, Paragraph, Amateur

If you're writing a book that takes place in New York in the moment, you can't not write about 9-11; you can't not integrate it. My main character's view is the Statue of Liberty and the Trade Center. It doesn't have to take over, but it has to be acknowledged.

- Richard Price

Book, About, Acknowledged, Integrate

I can never read this book, just like I can never see a movie that I wrote a screenplay for. I can read it and see it physically, but I can't accurately judge it. I'm too close to it. If I read it ten times I'll have ten different reactions.

- Richard Price

Book, Movie, Screenplay, Ten Times

Writers spend three years rearranging 26 letters of the alphabet. It's enough to make you lose your mind day by day.

- Richard Price

Mind, Lose, Rearranging, Letters

I'd love to be a saxophonist. I don't know why, but I pretend I'm the saxophonist when I listen to music. I have about as much chance playing the sax as I do learning how to fly.

- Richard Price

Love, Chance, About, Sax

The kind of event on a conveyor belt that causes a fire occurs in a variety of industrial environments, not uniquely in coal environments.

- Richard Price

Belt, Industrial, Conveyor, Uniquely

I started thinking about my relationship with my students; I'm this guy who comes in from book - and movie - land and descends on angel wings into their classroom.

- Richard Price

Book, Movie, About, Classroom

If I can tell you the story from beginning to end in five minutes, I'm ready to start writing. Then it's a constant spreading out of that five minutes.

- Richard Price

Beginning, Minutes, Constant, Spreading

I write because I write - as anyone in the arts does. You're a painter because you feel you have no choice but to paint. You're a writer because this is what you do.

- Richard Price

Paint, Feel, I Write, No Choice

I don't need all that much - I just need to know who my characters are and what kind of jam they're going to get into, and I'll write myself out of their jam.

- Richard Price

Kind, Need, Going, Jam

I have offices all over the place and I avoid work everywhere. I don't like to write - I like to be finished.

- Richard Price

Work, Over, Like, Offices

I think the definition of an artist is not necessarily tied into excellence or talent; an artist is somebody who, if you took away their freedom to make art, would lose their mind.

- Richard Price

Mind, Think, Took, Definition

You can't take a character anywhere they don't expect the character to go. But within those confines is where creativity lies.

- Richard Price

Go, Within, Anywhere, Creativity

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