When I lock myself up to write, I cannot allow myself to think about the censor or the reviewer or anyone but my characters and their story!
Anybody who says, 'My childhood was completely happy,' is a person who isn't remembering the truth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that a truly happy childhood is often a misconception, as everyone experiences challenges.
Judy Blume's quote highlights the complexity of childhood experiences, implying that while there may be joyful moments, they are usually interwoven with challenges and struggles. It serves as a reminder that nostalgia can cloud our memories, leading us to overlook the difficulties we faced in our formative years. Acknowledging that happiness is not the sole experience of childhood can foster a deeper understanding of human development and the nuanced nature of life.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the complexities of growing up, this quote could be used to emphasize that childhood experiences are often mixed.
More from Judy Blume
All quotes βWhat I remember when I started to write was how I couldn't wait to get up in the morning to get to my characters.
What can happen if a young reader picks up a book he/she isn't yet ready for? Questions, maybe. Usually, that child puts down the book and says, 'Boring.' Or, 'I'm not ready for this.' Kids are really good at knowing what they can handle.
Concentrate on how good if feels to be alive. No matter what. Just to see the color of the sky, just to smell the air, and feel the wind in your face
I wrote 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' right out of my own experiences and my own feelings when I was in sixth grade.
Nobody ever asks me why my characters don't text each other. Besides, as soon as you put something 'electronic' in a book, it's already out of date by the time it's published: everything will have changed. Human emotion, on the other hand, will never change.
Similar quotes
Better to try all things and find all empty, than to try nothing and leave your life a blank.
A single action can cause a life to veer off in a direction it was never meant to go. Falling in love can do that, you think. And so can a wild party. You marvel at the way each has the power to forever alter an individual's compass. And it is the knowing that such a thing can so easily happen, as you did not know before, not really, that has fundamentally changed you and your son.
Never did anybody look so sad. Bitter and black, halfway down, in the darkness, in the shaft which ran from the sunlight to the depths, perhaps a tear formed; a tear fell; the waves swayed this way and that, received it, and were at rest. Never did anybody look so sad.
It's the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they're gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it's my turn to leave.
I just want to go through Central Park and watch folks passing by. Spend the whole day watching people. I miss that.
No, you never get any fun_x000D_ _x000D_ Out of the things you haven't done.