I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call it imagination, I suppose. But I was grateful for wherever they came from.

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Amy Tan Quotes

Memory feeds imagination.

Memory feeds imagination.

My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also...

My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also...

I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while....

I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while....

Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself...

Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself...

If you can't change your fate, change your attitude.

If you can't change your fate, change your attitude.

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up...

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up...

It's a luxury being a writer, because all you ever think about is life.

It's a luxury being a writer, because all you ever think about is life.

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing...

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing...

You can get sucked into the idea that, 'Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should...

You can get sucked into the idea that, 'Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should...

It's both rebellion and conformity that attack you with success.

It's both rebellion and conformity that attack you with success.

My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A's from the...

My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A's from the...

I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a...

I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a...

My parents told me I would become a doctor and then in my spare time...

My parents told me I would become a doctor and then in my spare time...

People think it's a terrible tragedy when somebody has Alzheimer's. But in my mother's case,...

People think it's a terrible tragedy when somebody has Alzheimer's. But in my mother's case,...

I used to think that my mother got into arguments with people because they didn't...

I used to think that my mother got into arguments with people because they didn't...

She said 'I'm by commission. You don't have to pay anything until you sell anything.'...

She said 'I'm by commission. You don't have to pay anything until you sell anything.'...

I think I've always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who...

I think I've always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who...

Who knows where inspiration comes from. Perhaps it arises from desperation. Perhaps it comes from...

Who knows where inspiration comes from. Perhaps it arises from desperation. Perhaps it comes from...

As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they...

As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they...

He who is everybodyâ€™s friend is either very poor or very rich.

He who is everybodyâ€™s friend is either very poor or very rich.