--- title: "10 Long Quotes By Dan Chaon" description: "10 Long quotes by Dan Chaon. Plus more from Dan Chaon and more Long sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/dan-chaon-2729_ability_i-have-long-admired-caroline-leavitt-s-p_982390.png" --- > [I have long admired Caroline Leavitt's probing insight into people, her wit and compassion, her ability to find humor in dark situations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-long-admired-caroline-leavitt-s-probing-insight-into-people/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/dan-chaon-2729_ability_i-have-long-admired-caroline-leavitt-s-p_982390.png) > [You can go on like this for a very long time, and no one will notice. You keep thinking you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/you-can-go-on-like-this-for-a-very-long-time-and-no-one-will-notice/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/dan-chaon-2729_bottom_you-can-go-on-like-this-for-a-very-long_1580262.png) > [“The type of person who will always be your friend, for as long as you can stand to keep disappointing her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-type-of-person-who-will-always-be-your-friend-for-as-long-as-you/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/dan-chaon-2729_friend_the-type-of-person-who-will-always-be-yo_2518381.png) > [I guess I'm curious about how people process grief and how they process loss. And I'm also interested in the ways in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-guess-i-m-curious-about-how-people-process-grief-and-how-they/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/dan-chaon-2729_consequence_i-guess-i-m-curious-about-how-people-pro_2713271.png) > [You can't count on notoriety lasting very long, and there's no way to predict whether anyone will care about your books or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/you-can-t-count-on-notoriety-lasting-very-long-and-there-s-no-way-to/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/dan-chaon-2729_book_you-can-t-count-on-notoriety-lasting-ver_1229838.png) > [It is not like a premonition of death. It is as if she died a long time ago, and she just now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-is-not-like-a-premonition-of-death-it-is-as-if-she-died-a-long/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd3/dan-chaon-2729_death_it-is-not-like-a-premonition-of-death-it_2696242.png) > [I'd read an enormous amount but had spent so much time in my own head that I didn't have extensive social skills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-d-read-an-enormous-amount-but-had-spent-so-much-time-in-my-own-head/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/dan-chaon-2729_amount_i-d-read-an-enormous-amount-but-had-spen_1456364.png) > [I think at a certain point the book develops a certain weight, or pressure. You've been pushing the rock up the hill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-think-at-a-certain-point-the-book-develops-a-certain-weight-or/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/dan-chaon-2729_book_i-think-at-a-certain-point-the-book-deve_3055455.png) > [How can you come to understand your life when even the beginning is so complicated: a single cell imprinted with the color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/how-can-you-come-to-understand-your-life-when-even-the-beginning-is/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/dan-chaon-2729_alive_how-can-you-come-to-understand-your-life_872142.jpg) > [I can't understand how people can settle for having just one life. I remember we were in English class and we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-can-t-understand-how-people-can-settle-for-having-just-one-life-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/dan-chaon-2729_bent_i-can-t-understand-how-people-can-settle_964081.png) ## Other authors on Long ## More by Dan Chaon > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Even when our death is imminent, we carry the image of ourselves moving forward, alive, into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/even-when-our-death-is-imminent-we-carry-the-image-of-ourselves/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [For the last few years I've tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn't sound like much but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/for-the-last-few-years-i-ve-tried-to-force-myself-to-write-at-least/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It's hard to believe that this is how it's done. That this is how we get here into the world, by accident or design,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-hard-to-believe-that-this-is-how-it-s-done-that-this-is-how-we/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I also have just my own limits about stuff. I'm not interested in writing graphically about sexual assault for example. I feel like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-also-have-just-my-own-limits-about-stuff-i-m-not-interested-in/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I have to admit that most of the time I read in the same way that I smoke and chew gum and jiggle my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-to-admit-that-most-of-the-time-i-read-in-the-same-way-that-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Outside, the sleet had gotten thicker. You could hear it pebbling against the large glass windows, you could see it swirling wildly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/outside-the-sleet-had-gotten-thicker-you-could-hear-it-pebbling/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-was-worried-that-as-a-college-teacher-if-i-wrote-too-much-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they're the building blocks of what makes a story work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/plot-and-scene-are-still-the-hardest-things-for-me-though-i-think/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I've been talking to myself a lot lately. I don't know what that's about, but my mother was the same way. She hated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-been-talking-to-myself-a-lot-lately-i-don-t-know-what-that-s/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It’s called apophenia. It’s the tendency we humans have to find meaning in disconnected information. For example, some people believe in what’s called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-called-apophenia-it-s-the-tendency-we-humans-have-to-find/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-would-say-that-all-short-stories-have-mystery-naturally-built-into/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/dan-chaon/#itemlist", "name": "10 Long Quotes By Dan Chaon", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have long admired Caroline Leavitt's probing insight into people, her wit and compassion, her ability to find humor in dark situations, and conversely, her tenderness towards characters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-long-admired-caroline-leavitt-s-probing-insight-into-people/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/dan-chaon-2729_ability_i-have-long-admired-caroline-leavitt-s-p_982390.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/dan-chaon-2729_ability_i-have-long-admired-caroline-leavitt-s-p_982390.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b16/dan-chaon-2729_ability_i-have-long-admired-caroline-leavitt-s-p_982390.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have long admired Caroline Leavitt's probing insight into people, her wit and compassion, her ability to…” — Dan Chaon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can go on like this for a very long time, and no one will notice. 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It is as if she died a long time ago, and she just now remembered it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-is-not-like-a-premonition-of-death-it-is-as-if-she-died-a-long/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd3/dan-chaon-2729_death_it-is-not-like-a-premonition-of-death-it_2696242.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd3/dan-chaon-2729_death_it-is-not-like-a-premonition-of-death-it_2696242.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd3/dan-chaon-2729_death_it-is-not-like-a-premonition-of-death-it_2696242.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not like a premonition of death. 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You've been pushing the rock up the hill for a long time and then it starts to roll and things do start to come together in the last two thirds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-think-at-a-certain-point-the-book-develops-a-certain-weight-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/dan-chaon-2729_book_i-think-at-a-certain-point-the-book-deve_3055455.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/dan-chaon-2729_book_i-think-at-a-certain-point-the-book-deve_3055455.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dc/dan-chaon-2729_book_i-think-at-a-certain-point-the-book-deve_3055455.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think at a certain point the book develops a certain weight, or pressure. You've been pushing the rock up…” — Dan Chaon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How can you come to understand your life when even the beginning is so complicated: a single cell imprinted with the color of your eyes and the shape of your face the pattern on your palm and the moods that will shadow you through your life. How can you be alive when every choice you make breaks the world into a thousand filaments each careless step branching into long tributaries of alternate lives shuddering outward and outward like sheet lightning.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/how-can-you-come-to-understand-your-life-when-even-the-beginning-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/dan-chaon-2729_alive_how-can-you-come-to-understand-your-life_872142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/dan-chaon-2729_alive_how-can-you-come-to-understand-your-life_872142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/dan-chaon-2729_alive_how-can-you-come-to-understand-your-life_872142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How can you come to understand your life when even the beginning is so complicated: a single cell imprinted…” — Dan Chaon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can't understand how people can settle for having just one life. I remember we were in English class and we were talking about that poem by - that one guy. David Frost. 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood-' You know this poem, right? 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could, to where it bent in the undergrowth-\" \"I loved that poem. But I remember thinking to myself: Why? How come you can't travel both? That seemed really unfair to me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-can-t-understand-how-people-can-settle-for-having-just-one-life-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/dan-chaon-2729_bent_i-can-t-understand-how-people-can-settle_964081.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/dan-chaon-2729_bent_i-can-t-understand-how-people-can-settle_964081.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/dan-chaon-2729_bent_i-can-t-understand-how-people-can-settle_964081.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can't understand how people can settle for having just one life. 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