There's no such thing as luck. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. — Amy Hempel Luck Copy Share Image
Sometimes a flat-footed sentence is what serves, so you don't get all writerly: 'He opened the door.' There, it's open. — Amy Hempel Doors Copy Share Image
Just because you have stopped sinking doesn't mean you're not still underwater. — Amy Hempel Mean Copy Share Image
I wanted to be a veterinarian, but slipped up when I hit organic chemistry. — Amy Hempel Chemistry Copy Share Image
“Before I took to the road, a friend tried to get me to go to a department store with him. He said… — Amy Hempel Friendship Copy Share Image
“The neighborhood drug dealer kicks out his wife. He moves in a girlfriend and the wife finds out. The wife lets herself… — Amy Hempel Community Copy Share Image
consolation is a beautiful word. everyone skins his knee-that doesnt make yours hurt anyless. — Amy Hempel Beautiful Copy Share Image
The worst of it is over now, and I can't say that I am glad. Lose that sense of loss--you have gone… — Amy Hempel Glad Copy Share Image
It was like that class at school where the teacher talks about Realization, about how you could realize something big in a… — Amy Hempel Bigs Copy Share Image
“It’s the natural trajectory of a writing career that a writer becomes better at being herself.” — Amy Hempel Nature Copy Share Image
I sleep with a glass of water on the nightstand so I can see by its level if the coastal earth is… — Amy Hempel Coastal Copy Share Image
“I think it was that love that I loved. That kind of involvement was reassuring; I felt it would extend to me,… — Amy Hempel Love Copy Share Image
I probably have less revision than those who have that wonderful rush of story to tell - you know, I can't wait… — Amy Hempel Done Copy Share Image
They say the smart dog obeys but the smarter dog knows when to disobey. — Amy Hempel Dog Copy Share Image
“I had my own bed. I slept in it alone, except for those times when we needed—not sex—but sex was how we… — Amy Hempel Love Copy Share Image
“For example, the questions that say, "Would you prefer..." "Would you prefer (a) Answer questions about what you do, (b) Answer questions… — Amy Hempel Copy Share Image
I do feel that if you can write one good sentence and then another good sentence and then another, you end up… — Amy Hempel Ends Copy Share Image
“I like radio personalities, and I like to change lanes. And losing yourself on the freeway is like living at the beach--you're… — Amy Hempel Losing yourself Copy Share Image
He could not wait to get rid of them so he could enjoy remembering them. — Amy Hempel Enjoy Copy Share Image
The only time the word baby doesn't scare me is the time that it should, when it is what a man calls… — Amy Hempel Baby Copy Share Image
When my mother died, my father's early widowhood gave him social cachet he would not have had if they had divorced. He… — Amy Hempel Bigger Copy Share Image
I think you would like Warren. He drinks Courvoisier in a Coke can, and has a laugh like you'd find in a… — Amy Hempel Bubbles Copy Share Image
if it's true your life flashes past your eyes before you die, then it is also the truth that your life rushes… — Amy Hempel Alive Copy Share Image
I started writing by doing small related things but not the thing itself, circling it and getting closer. I had no idea… — Amy Hempel Fiction Copy Share Image
