Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
Anne LamottRead
To be a good writer, you not only have to write a great deal but you have to care. You do not have to have a complicated moral philosophy. But a writer always tries, I think, to be a part of a solution, to understand a little about life and to pass this on.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A good writer combines creativity with genuine care for their work and the world.
Anne Lamott emphasizes that effective writing goes beyond sheer volume; it demands a heartfelt engagement with life and a desire to contribute positively to society. Writers should strive to convey their understanding of the human experience through their words, acting as conduits for deeper truths.
Themes
WritingCareHuman ExperienceSolutionLife
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, this quote could inspire participants to invest their emotions in their stories.
More from Anne Lamott
All quotes →Or you might shout at the top of your lungs or whisper into your sleeve, "I hate you, God." That is a prayer too, because it is real, it is truth, and maybe it is the first sincere thought you've had in months.
Anne LamottRead
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
Anne LamottRead
It is hard to remember that you are a cherished spiritual being when you're burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.
Anne LamottRead
Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here. [...] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.
Anne LamottRead
...because when people have seen you at their worst, you don't have to put on the mask as much.
Anne LamottRead
Similar quotes
For me, the glory of my first 25 years as a writer was I could put things off as long as I wanted.
Neil GaimanRead
When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is defined by them. You have to admit that.
Margaret AtwoodRead
All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves abandoning a piece of work - or find themselves putting it aside, as we gently say.
Martin AmisRead
You live in my heart where no one sees you but I do. That vision becomes this art.
RumiRead
An ecstasy is a thing that will not go into words; it feels like music.
Mark TwainRead
What's missing in the musical theater is producers willing to nurture new work, raise the money and put it on.
Harold PrinceRead