Ann Beattie Quotes

I'm normally drawn to something I haven't done and seen before.

Part of the reasons I have lived the life I have is because I wanted to have an adventurous life. But my best adventures are more literary than political.

Most writers are drawn to what is unknown, rather than what is clear in any tale.

In writing, I've found, playing it safe and familiar is no way to energize anybody.

I can create countries just as I can create the actions of my characters. That is why a lot of travel seems to me a waste of time.

Nothing much interested me other than playing with language and telling stories and doing something with the wonders of the world around me.

As long as there are things to wonder about, there are stories to be written about them. That makes me happy, because writing about things seems to be my thing.

I write what I don't know. It's way more interesting.

Good fiction is about asserting the beauties of the world, inventing a new, positive thing. Where am I going to get that? And it should be original; it should not be cliched. So the way I looked at history was not to accuse it of failure.

Fear of the unknown is a great creative partner.

The terror of figuring out a new genre, of telling a new story, is what makes the job exciting, keeps me from getting bored, and I assume it keeps whoever follows my work from getting bored as well.

I look for stories everywhere.

If you know everything, it keeps you from writing. You don't want a story to burn you out instead of surprising you.

I have to challenge myself, and I have to challenge the reader. We should be weaving and working on new stories and not the same story over and over.

Dig into life with wild roving abandon, opening your mind to the delicious possibilities that perplex the mind, entice the heart, and excite the spirit.

I'm interested in stories. I think I'm a bit of a pathfinder.

The old adage is, 'Write what you know.' But if you only do that, your work becomes claustrophobic. I say, 'Write what you want to know.'

I love finding and doing new things and trying stuff out; that's my favorite thing to do.

I think I've always been slightly addicted to not repeating myself. When you're doing something the first time around, it's often the best time. I think 'Blank Project' is about carrying on. Its that thing where you're making something because you have to, but you don't know how or why.

Predictability is boring! I want a book to take me someplace I haven't been before, show me sights I haven't seen, make me ponder questions I may not have pondered before.

I'm ever curious about the world. I'm driven to go out and find new things to write about. Having a vivid imagination is also a plus.

When I try to write I try to write something different every time. That's the challenge.

From the very beginning, I've always just wanted to do something I've never done before. I'm still just trying to be on that path. It's all about working with filmmakers that you believe in.

Both the man of science and the man of action live always at the edge of mystery, surrounded by it.

Well, you know, writers just suck up new experiences - we're just like the vacuum cleaners of newness.