Home
Topics
Authors
:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Maria Semple Quotes

American - Novelist | May 21, 1964 -

In TV writing, I felt like Gulliver being tied down by the Lilliputians. There's so much more freedom in fiction writing.

Freedom Writing Down More Fiction

I learned that comedy is born out of strong characters. I won't begin writing a character until I have a clear take on them.

Character Writing Strong Comedy Born

I never understood the concept of a fluffy summer read. For me, summer reading means beaches, long train rides and layovers in foreign airports. All of which call for escaping into really long books.

Me Reading Long Train Summer Never

My father was a screenwriter, and I kind of grew up in that world. I always had a mind for characters and dialogue, and my head was filled with that stuff, so it seemed like a good place to start.

Good Father Mind World Start Place

I don't know if it's a failure of imagination on my part, but I'm not going to be writing about Paris in the 1800s. I feel like it would come off as just ludicrously uninformed, even if I did a lot of research.

Failure Imagination Research Writing

I naively thought I would quit television writing, move up to Seattle, my novel would come out, and then I'd have a novel writing career, and so I found myself really stuck in this very poisonous self-pitying state and felt like I'd never write again. And I blamed Seattle for that.

Myself Writing Thought Career Quit

I don't mind finding these ugly sides to my personality and exaggerating them because that's something you can write towards.

Personality Ugly Mind Finding You

In my high-minded and naive way, I believed the only books worth reading were the classics.

Reading Worth Way Naive Classics

I steer clear of any novel that gets billed as a 'meditation.'

Meditation Clear Novel Steer Any

I'm consistently blown away by 'Mad Men.' Having spent so much time in the writers' room, I'm cursed in that anytime I watch something, I'm always calculating what the writers are up to.

Time Men Mad Always Up Room

My favorite kind of book is a domestic drama that's grounded in reality yet slightly unhinged.

Book Reality Drama Kind Grounded

If I had written something, and I had written myself into a corner, I didn't abandon it. Because I remembered: There's always more.

Myself More Always Corner Remembered

First Prev page 1 234 5 6 Next page Last

Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Maria Semple quotes