Writer Quotes by Dani Shapiro

I never feel so alive as when I'm writing and the work is going well.

— Dani Shapiro

When it comes to the personal essays I write, I just convince myself that no one will ever read them.

— Dani Shapiro

Everything you need to know about life can be learned from a genuine and ongoing attempt to write

— Dani Shapiro

If you write memoir, it can't be about blame or hurt; it has to be creative.

— Dani Shapiro

Maggie Shipstead takes hold of the reader and doesn't let go. Astonish Me is a haunting, powerful novel.

— Dani Shapiro

I think there's something about a writer's disposition, that is, even if unaware, always slightly in a witness state.

— Dani Shapiro

I knew I wanted to be a writer before I knew that being a writer was possible.

— Dani Shapiro

When I sit down with my notebook, when I start scribbling words across the page, I find out what I'm feeling.

— Dani Shapiro

It's essential to have sacred time for writing. All successful authors have some daily commitment to keep on-track and moving forward.

— Dani Shapiro

Novels are my favorite to write and read. I do like writing personal essays, too. I'm not really a short story writer,…

— Dani Shapiro

I'm a full-time writer, which means I have the entire day to get my work done. But that can also be bad,…

— Dani Shapiro

If there's anything weirder than an introverted writer going to lots of social functions, it's an introverted writer being converted into an…

— Dani Shapiro

“To forget oneself-to lose oneself in the music, in the moment- that kind of absorption seems to be at the heart of…

— Dani Shapiro

When I was writing my first novel, I smoked cigarettes. And when I think about what it was like to smoke, I…

— Dani Shapiro

There's a danger in romanticizing what it means to be a writer. Because what it really means is hard, hard work. It…

— Dani Shapiro

I don't think it's possible to separate out the strands of a writer's history, circumstances, life events, and that writer's themes.

— Dani Shapiro

With tremendous clarity and wisdom, Daniel Tomasulo has crafted a memoir at once heartbreaking and uplifting. Layers of time and memory—childhood, adolescence,…

— Dani Shapiro

The writing life requires courage, patience, persistence, empathy, openness, and the ability to deal with rejection. It requires the willingness to be…

— Dani Shapiro

“Write the words "The FIve Senses" on an index card and tack it to a bulletin board above your desk. You should…

— Dani Shapiro

If I waited to be in the mood to write, I'd barely have a chapbook of material to my name. Who would…

— Dani Shapiro

There's nothing confessional about crafting and shaping a story out of a lived life. In fact, it's quite the opposite - the…

— Dani Shapiro

Writing well involves walking the path of most resistance. Sitting still, being patient, allowing the lunatic dream to take shape on the…

— Dani Shapiro

When a writer's whole being is poured into a piece of work, there is never enough. The feeling of finally getting to…

— Dani Shapiro

This may be a little bit of a provocative thing to say, but the memoirist doesn't owe the reader anything other than…

— Dani Shapiro

A writer with her work needs to be like a dog with a bone all the time. She needs to know where…

— Dani Shapiro

“When writers who are just starting out ask me when it gets easier, my answer is never. It never gets easier. I…

— Dani Shapiro

“Still writing?" I usually nod and smile, then quickly change the subject. But here is what I would like to put down…

— Dani Shapiro

How do we live the writer's life? There's only one simple answer: 'we write.'

— Dani Shapiro

As writers, it is our job not only to imagine, but to witness.

— Dani Shapiro

My journals were a clearing house - a garbage can. Once I was writing seriously, I understood that this was the stuff…

— Dani Shapiro

You have to believe in yourself before the world has given you any indication that you should believe in yourself as a…

— Dani Shapiro

Confidence is highly overrated when it comes to creating literature. A writer who is overly confident will not engage in the struggle…

— Dani Shapiro

There is no end to the promotion. There is no end to the possibilities. You can continue to promote a book for…

— Dani Shapiro

I think so much about how we read, about the nature of solitude, and of community, is changing in ways that none…

— Dani Shapiro

When I was growing up, I had no idea that I could possibly become a writer. I wrote endlessly in journals -…

— Dani Shapiro

“The writer’s life requires courage, patience, empathy, openness. It requires the ability to be alone with oneself. Gentle with oneself. To be…

— Dani Shapiro

Writing has been my window-flung wide open to this magnificent, chaotic existence-my way of interpreting everything within my grasp.

— Dani Shapiro

I never troll for material. It simply presents itself, and is always unmistakable. This is why I want to roll my eyes…

— Dani Shapiro

“I've never heard a writer feel that way about a device with a screen. Oh sure, they're functional, practical. We would be…

— Dani Shapiro