You can't tell a writer they should just be more confident. — Alice Mattison Confidence Copy Share Image
Writers sometimes are paid a great deal of money, but much more frequently they're not paid or are paid only a little… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
I think that inevitably, the trouble our characters go through is a kind of metaphor for what's happening in ourselves. — Alice Mattison Character Copy Share Image
Anyone with an imagination can write about the day-to-day experiences of someone he or she is not. — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
Sometimes it's interesting to see what people who have too much control need to do to write freely. — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
The making of fiction takes literally what is suggested by our imagination. — Alice Mattison Fiction Copy Share Image
I think you have to remember that writing is hard; my first editor used to say that to me. — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
Being part of a community of writers is huge. I really think that's why people go to MFA programs. — Alice Mattison Community Copy Share Image
We still have so many cultures in which people are imprisoned and whipped and killed for writing what they think. — Alice Mattison Culture Copy Share Image
We have to give our poor, innocent, and undeserving-of-our-badness characters trouble in order to make them characters in a story. — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
I've been astonished how often, when I convince a writer to tell a story more straightforwardly and to tell it more simply… — Alice Mattison Books Copy Share Image
I think a day in your life on which nothing bad happens may be a wonderful day, but it probably isn't going… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
I think the difference between writing as someone and writing for them is that when you write for someone, you take on… — Alice Mattison Burden Copy Share Image
I think we need to develop the courage to write from the viewpoint of people who may seem quite different from ourselves,… — Alice Mattison Courage Copy Share Image
I heard a white writer say, 'Oh, I'd never put black people in my writing, I'm afraid I would offend someone by… — Alice Mattison Bears Copy Share Image
There is a lot of censorship about writing that's exerted from all directions, from families or governments and society, even the fear… — Alice Mattison Censorship Copy Share Image
There seems to be a tremendous desire among many people now to know authors and how they work, to know what's autobiographical… — Alice Mattison Autobiographical Copy Share Image
Every once in a while someone says, 'You can't really learn anything, if you're really a writer then you wouldn't need to… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
When I've taught writing to five, six, and seven year olds, it's not very different than talking to an adult writer. They're… — Alice Mattison Adults Copy Share Image
This is true in other fields, too, that a legal aid lawyer gets a whole lot less money than a Hollywood lawyer… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
I began to see, again and again, stories that were first confusing and second where the emotional impact was muted because the… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
I had never written about what it's like to live the life of a writer, and I had never read a book… — Alice Mattison Book Copy Share Image
I remember I had had one woman who had three or four kids, and some of them were having problems. I said,… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
You may be somebody who writes best for a small press that doesn't pay very well, but you might have a fascinating… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
If you have a character stand up and put on her shoes and open the door, in order to do that, you're… — Alice Mattison Character Copy Share Image
For some people, it's very easy to be spontaneous and they can pour out the most wonderful stuff. But it's really hard… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
I find that I get very excited about what my students are up to and that I get to be the hurdle… — Alice Mattison Copy Share Image
I get to a certain point, and I think in a novel it's about the third draft, when I want other eyes… — Alice Mattison Books Copy Share Image
In many cultures, women are sometimes literally kept from learning to read or from going to school. — Alice Mattison Culture Copy Share Image
You have to write fiction that mirrors the actual world, which has people of all sorts in it. — Alice Mattison Fiction Copy Share Image
Teaching is very important to me, and it has become more important as I get older. — Alice Mattison Education Copy Share Image
I love to read nonfiction and memoir, but I'm mostly interested in the piece of writing more than the person. — Alice Mattison Books Copy Share Image
