There is some reason, obviously, that you are drawn to your material, but the way in which you explore it might come to be quite different from what you would expect.

Quote by Ann Beattie

Topics: Ann Beattie Quotes

While I would agree that I write about serious subjects, and that they're not necessarily...

While I would agree that I write about serious subjects, and that they're not necessarily...

I think that I'm serious, but I don't think that I'm inordinately bleak.

I think that I'm serious, but I don't think that I'm inordinately bleak.

I don't even correct people when they mispronounce my name now.

I don't even correct people when they mispronounce my name now.

You have to figure out who the right person is to tell the story. And...

You have to figure out who the right person is to tell the story. And...

I think I write about things that are mysterious to me.

I think I write about things that are mysterious to me.

When I lived in New York, not only did I have safety locks on the...

When I lived in New York, not only did I have safety locks on the...

It's gratifying that it does; I love to give readings.

It's gratifying that it does; I love to give readings.

If you could have a book called My Favorite Six Stories, I don't think I'd...

If you could have a book called My Favorite Six Stories, I don't think I'd...

Much of what happens in Love Always is really from overheard conversations in the Russian...

Much of what happens in Love Always is really from overheard conversations in the Russian...

Falling in Place was meant to be very much rooted in a place and time,...

Falling in Place was meant to be very much rooted in a place and time,...

It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the reason that most of...

It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the reason that most of...

I could name a few songs and say exactly what summer they came out and...

I could name a few songs and say exactly what summer they came out and...

I must say also that it's never worked to my disadvantage that I have long,...

I must say also that it's never worked to my disadvantage that I have long,...

I've spent my life supporting myself.

I've spent my life supporting myself.

When I was teaching at Harvard in the 1970s, I went to Project Incorporated in...

When I was teaching at Harvard in the 1970s, I went to Project Incorporated in...

I feel that these stories are being written to articulate certain confusions and disappointments, and...

I feel that these stories are being written to articulate certain confusions and disappointments, and...

Also minimalism is a term that all of us who share so little in common...

Also minimalism is a term that all of us who share so little in common...

Nobody can assume that, to a writer, everything is off-limits.

Nobody can assume that, to a writer, everything is off-limits.

I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere,...

I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere,...

I don't write about things that I have the answers to or things that are...

I don't write about things that I have the answers to or things that are...