Gossip says she hanged herself from the turret on the tower, but when you have a house like Hill House with a tower and a turret, gossip would hardly allow you to hang yourself anywhere else.
Shirley JacksonRead
The first book is the book you have to write to get back at your parents; the book you always had in you. Once you get that out of your way, you can start writing books.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing is a personal journey that often involves confronting one's past.
Shirley Jackson suggests that every writer has an initial story to tell that is deeply personal and often tied to their family experiences. This narrative must be expressed and released before a writer can fully explore their creativity and produce additional works.
Themes
WritingCreativityExpressionFamilyStorytelling
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on personal narrative, this quote can inspire participants to explore their own stories.
More from Shirley Jackson
All quotes →It watches," he added suddenly. "The house. It watches every move you make.
Shirley JacksonRead
There had not been this many words sounded in our house for a long time, and it was going to take a while to clean them out.
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Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
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I can't help it when people are frightened," says Merricat. "I always want to frighten them more.
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I was pretending that I did not speak their language; on the moon we spoke a soft, liquid tongue, and sang in the starlight, looking down on the dead dried world.
Shirley JacksonRead
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