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Tom Bissell Quotes

Powerful Tom Bissell for Daily Growth

About Tom Bissell

Tom Bissell is an acclaimed American writer and essayist, renowned for his thought-provoking prose that blends elements of fiction, non-fiction, and gaming criticism. Born on August 14, 1975, in Detroit, Michigan, Bissell spent much of his childhood moving between Ann Arbor and Washington D.C., which later influenced the settings and themes of many of his works. Bissell's early life was marked by a deep love for literature and video games. His father was a professor at the University of Michigan, and his mother, a librarian. This intellectual environment fostered Bissell's inquisitive mind and passion for storytelling. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1997 with a degree in English literature, he moved to New York City to pursue a career as a writer. His debut novel, "Apostle: A Novel" (2005), was followed by "Magic Hours: Essays on Earth and Infinity" (2006), which showcased Bissell's ability to explore complex themes with emotional depth and intellectual rigor. However, it was his work "Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter" (2010) that solidified his reputation as a leading voice in gaming criticism. The book delved into the philosophical, artistic, and personal aspects of video games, challenging traditional perceptions of the medium. Bissell's work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism (2013) for "The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made" and the Games Media Awards' Games Journalist of the Year (2014). His latest book, "Chronology of Water: A Novel in Drift" (2012), is a profound exploration of memory, family, and survival, reflecting Bissell's experiences living on the Indonesian island of Bali during the devastating 2004 tsunami. Tom Bissell continues to push boundaries with his unique blend of narrative styles and thought-provoking themes, leaving a lasting impact on contemporary literature and gaming criticism.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The true artist is not afraid of the void."

The quote by Tom Bissell, "The true artist is not afraid of the void," suggests that a genuine artist embraces uncertainty and emptiness, rather than fearing it. This fearlessness allows them to venture into uncharted territories, to explore new ideas, and to create something original without the constraints of preconceived notions or limitations. Essentially, this quote highlights the courage, resilience, and innovative spirit needed to embark on artistic creation.

"Art is about mystery and revelation; it's about making strange what was once familiar."

This quote by Tom Bissell suggests that art serves to challenge our perception of the world, transforming what we consider as familiar into something new and enigmatic. Through its power to reveal hidden aspects or perspectives, art allows us to see things in a fresh light, encouraging curiosity, critical thinking, and personal growth. In essence, it illuminates mystery by creating moments of revelation.

"I don't want to be understood; I want to be believed."

This quote highlights a desire for trust and authenticity, rather than simply being comprehended or agreed with. It suggests that the speaker seeks not just intellectual assent, but a deeper level of faith or belief in their words, actions, or character. In other words, they yearn to be perceived as sincere, reliable, and deserving of trust - qualities that are often more valued than mere understanding.

"Great art should make you feel like you're falling into a bottomless well, but it also makes you feel like you can fly."

This quote implies that exceptional art has a profound impact, evoking deep emotions in the viewer or listener. It suggests that art transports us to another realm, akin to the feeling of falling into an abyss – a sense of mystery, depth, and wonder. Simultaneously, it also provides a liberating sensation, allowing us to soar, to feel free, unbounded, and inspired – much like flying. In essence, great art invites us to delve into the unknown while simultaneously uplifting our spirit.

"The best kind of story is one that never truly ends."

This quote by Tom Bissell highlights the idea that the most impactful stories are those that continue to resonate long after their initial telling, fostering an enduring connection between the reader/listener and the narrative. The story's continuation in our minds allows for personal reflection, interpretation, and growth, making it a never-ending source of insight and inspiration. Essentially, these tales become part of our personal mythology, shaping our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Every book in the 'Dreams' cycle dramatizes a particular epoch in the ongoing cultural collision between North America's native peoples and its European colonizers.

- Tom Bissell

Book, North, European, Collision

I'd been in Sacramento a day and already noticed the pervasiveness of its homeless problem. The city seemed like California without the masks or pretense: a place where dreams were occasionally made but mostly torn apart.

- Tom Bissell

Been, Torn, Mostly, Homeless

Anyone who's taken a lot of creative-writing classes, or taught creative writing, has learned to dread a certain kind of manuscript. It's long, for one thing. It has irritatingly small type; it's grammatically meticulous when it comes to everything but punctuation, for which it has developed its own system of Tolkienic elaboration.

- Tom Bissell

Small, Own, Classes, Manuscript

Only in about 2007 or so did it become clear to me that games could stand proudly beside other storytelling mediums, and that's when I became more, shall we say, evangelistic in my position. Prior to that, I don't know how enthusiastically I would have admitted that I game.

- Tom Bissell

Storytelling, Other, Became, Mediums

My fiction-writing DNA shows in how I think about prose, how I think about the page, how I think nonfiction stories should work. And every piece of nonfiction I write, I want it to have fictional texture.

- Tom Bissell

Think, I Think, Prose, Fictional

I view myself as a fiction writer who just happens to write nonfiction. I think I look at the world through a fiction-writer's eyes.

- Tom Bissell

Think, Through, I Think, Nonfiction

Sport-based video games occupy an odd space within the sphere of modern home entertainment. Reliably enjoyed by millions, the sport-based video game stands at what sometimes feels like an oblique angle from the larger medium, and in ways that can be hard to articulate.

- Tom Bissell

Larger, Feels, Oblique, Articulate

I guess I would say that most of what I've learned about storytelling derives from novels and short stories. I cannot think of a novel or story, or a novelist or story writer, who thinks in terms of three-act structure.

- Tom Bissell

Storytelling, About, Would, Novels

The underwater businessman philosopher Andrew Ryan was BioShock's unforgettable villain.

- Tom Bissell

Villain, Unforgettable, Ryan, Andrew

I have an immensely understanding partner who does something creative herself, and we both need a lot of time alone. I structure my life around getting my work done, first and foremost. Everything else is secondary. That's the only way I've been able to do it.

- Tom Bissell

My Life, Been, Immensely, Everything Else

The way games are designed is you create a story, and then you create an obstacle course inside that story, and the player has to endure it to see more. So it's artificial. Game designers are so intensely worried about people getting bored that they pile on busy work for players to do.

- Tom Bissell

Game, About, Pile, Obstacle

I like reading books with both hands, with my heart pumping, with blood on the page. So I'm interested in people who make stuff, and I'm interested in the lives that make the text. To read a book or watch a movie any other way, to me, personally, feels like a waste of time and misapplication of energy.

- Tom Bissell

Hands, Other, Feels, Any Other Way

I mostly associated video game storytelling with unforgivable clumsiness, irredeemable incompetence - and suddenly, I was finding the aesthetic and formal concerns I'd always associated with fiction: storytelling, form, the medium, character. That kind of shocked me.

- Tom Bissell

Game, Aesthetic, Mostly, Video Game

Often the art in a video game is like glorified Thomas Kinkade, but some of it is genuinely enchanting and compelling.

- Tom Bissell

Art, Some, Enchanting, Video Game

There's a sense of fiction in every video game. It creates a world for itself that you want to obey.

- Tom Bissell

Game, Want, Fiction, Video Game

I don't know how video game narrative works.

- Tom Bissell

Game, How, Works, Video Game

The average action game doesn't much traffic in thematic grandiosity, but the BioShock games are different.

- Tom Bissell

Game, Games, Average, Traffic

For film at the beginning of the 20th century, they didn't even know what editing was yet. Actors didn't know how to perform in front of the camera. There wasn't sound.

- Tom Bissell

Beginning, Sound, Perform, 20th Century

All video games are games, obviously. They're designed. They're digital. They have rules; they give an audience some type of vicarious experience.

- Tom Bissell

Digital, Give, Some, Designed

Games tell stories best when they're elliptical and ambiguous and there's a sense of roaming and freedom.

- Tom Bissell

Freedom, Roaming, Stories, Ambiguous

All the stuff I love most in game storytelling is never the big-picture stuff; it's the stuff that feels like curlicues, stuff that's just there because it's a game and because you can do it.

- Tom Bissell

Love, Game, Feels, You Can Do It

I'm an Old Media guy. I don't have a website; I don't Twitter. I love magazines, yet I love video games. It's a strange disconnect.

- Tom Bissell

Love, Website, Disconnect, Video Games

The kinds of games I'm most interested in are narrative games.

- Tom Bissell

Games, Most, Kinds, Narrative

Here's what I just realized: A world in which sport at its best is not seen as some kind of art is a world that doesn't deserve any art.

- Tom Bissell

Here, Some, Which, Deserve

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