American - Novelist | 1968 -
If there was a way to bring someone back, would you do it, no matter what the consequences might be? I know that for me, my logical mind says, 'Of course not!' But the truth is, when you lose someone who is so close to you, it's as if they are a part of you; there's always one more thing to say, one more moment you wish you'd had.
Jennifer McMahon
TruthMomentMindMeTruth IsWish
I think of setting as almost a character of its own, influencing the other characters in ways they're not even aware of. So much of the success of a good ghost story rides on creating a creepy atmosphere; details of the landscape itself can help create a sense of dread.
SuccessGoodCharacterStoryThink
I absolutely love writing about the things that scare me, the things that keep me up at night. I don't quite know why. Perhaps because so many things do scare me, and this is my subconscious way of trying to exercise some control over things that go bump in the night!
LoveMeWritingControlNightKnow
My grandmother was a psychiatrist and possibly the ultimate of all skeptics. But even she couldn't explain the strange noises we so often heard in the attic.
StrangeGrandmotherSheExplainEven
I studied poetry in college and for a year in an MFA program. As time went on, my poems got more and more complicated. What I was really trying to do was tell stories.
TimePoetryCollegeTryingYearGot
Poetry taught me a great deal about language and images, but when it came to plotting, I was stumped. It's been very much a learn-by-doing thing for me.
GreatPoetryMeLanguageDealBeen
Some things, I think, like fairy books and secret doors, are only meant to be found by children.
ChildrenThinkDoorsMeant To Be
Do me a favor - right now, today, start a list of all your crazy obsessions, the things that get your heart pumping, that wake you up in the middle of the night. Put it above your desk and use it to guide you, to jumpstart your writing each and every day.
TodayHeartDayMeCrazyStart
One exercise I always do when I'm getting to know a character is ask her to tell me her secrets. Sit down with a pen and paper, and start with, 'I never told anybody...' and go from there, writing in the voice of your character.
CharacterMeWritingStartVoice
You can have the greatest characters in the world and write beautifully, but if nothing's happening, the story falls on its face pretty quickly.
WorldStoryFaceYouNothingWrite
I was born in 1968 and grew up in my grandmother's house in suburban Connecticut, where I was convinced a ghost named Virgil lived in the attic.
HouseBornGrandmotherUpLived
I wrote my first short story in third grade.
StoryShortFirstThirdShort Story
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Jennifer McMahon quotes