--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone has a bizarre childhood and…" description: "\"Everyone has a bizarre childhood and unusual life experiences, whether they know it or not. There's no such thing as a normal childhood. What's useful ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/kelly-link-9393_bizarre_everyone-has-a-bizarre-childhood-and-unu_2354302.jpg" --- # Everyone has a bizarre childhood and unusual life… ![“Everyone has a bizarre childhood and unusual life experiences, whether they know it or not. There's no such thing as a normal childhood. What's useful in writing weird fiction is learning how to understand and articulate those moments of personal, particular strangeness.” quote by Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/kelly-link-9393_bizarre_everyone-has-a-bizarre-childhood-and-unu_2354302.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/kelly-link-9393_bizarre_everyone-has-a-bizarre-childhood-and-unu_2354302.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/kelly-link-9393_bizarre_everyone-has-a-bizarre-childhood-and-unu_2354302.jpg) > “Everyone has a bizarre childhood and unusual life experiences, whether they know it or not. There's no such thing as a normal childhood. What's useful in writing weird fiction is learning how to understand and articulate those moments of personal, particular strangeness.” [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that all childhoods are unique, and embracing that strangeness fuels creative writing. **In simple terms:** All childhoods are unusual; use that to write weird fiction. Key Takeaway Leverage personal oddities for storytelling. Themes creativity identity storytelling Mood inquisitive inspirational Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal memoirs - character development - therapy sessions Key Concepts uniqueness psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you find value in ordinary experiences? - What strange moments shaped you? A Different Perspective Normalcy can be a useful narrative tool too. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bizarre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bizarre/) [Bizarre Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bizarre-childhood-5742724/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Childhood Unusual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood-unusual-1955057/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-experience/) [Life experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-experiences/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Strangeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangeness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unusual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unusual/) [Weird Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weird-fiction-620868/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Weird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-weird-303550/) ## Related quotes > [Sure, my childhood was unusual. All these eccentric, wild people frequented our home: rock stars, drag queens, models, bikers, freaks. But I was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-tyler/sure-my-childhood-was-unusual-all-these-eccentric-wild-people/) [Liv Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-tyler/) > [I should think just about every young writer - which I was at the time - would be influenced by HPL. As an American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-lumley/i-should-think-just-about-every-young-writer-which-i-was-at-the-time/) [Brian Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-lumley/) > [I don't go out of my way to write Weird Fiction, or in any other genre. Some of my stuff easily slips into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-tidbeck/i-don-t-go-out-of-my-way-to-write-weird-fiction-or-in-any-other-genre/) [Karin Tidbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-tidbeck/) > [I wasn't really a dark kid, but I was in my head a lot. I got good grades all through my 16 years of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-abbott/i-wasn-t-really-a-dark-kid-but-i-was-in-my-head-a-lot-i-got-good/) [Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-abbott/) > [Atmosphere, not action, is the great desideratum of weird fiction. Indeed, all that a wonder story can ever be is a vivid picture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/atmosphere-not-action-is-the-great-desideratum-of-weird-fiction-2/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Writing is a weird thing because we can read, we know how to write a sentence. It's not like a trumpet where you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carson-levine/writing-is-a-weird-thing-because-we-can-read-we-know-how-to-write-a/) [Gail Carson Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carson-levine/) > [I take the literary or textual aspect really seriously and I really enjoy writing weird album titles. I did a PhD; I enjoy writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/i-take-the-literary-or-textual-aspect-really-seriously-and-i-really/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [The language itself is what gets me interested in writing. It's weird to me that words exist. Never a dull moment with words. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-belz/the-language-itself-is-what-gets-me-interested-in-writing-it-s-weird/) [Aaron Belz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-belz/) > [“Atmosphere, not action, is the great desideratum of weird fiction. Indeed, all that a wonder story can ever be is a vivid picture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/atmosphere-not-action-is-the-great-desideratum-of-weird-fiction/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Weird fiction is a strange beast, an eclectic genre (or subgenre). It originated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century through the works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-marshall/weird-fiction-is-a-strange-beast-an-eclectic-genre-or-subgenre-it/) [Helen Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-marshall/) > [“I like to think of weird fiction as an unceasing distortion and buckling of ambient space and time; where plot, theme, atmosphere and voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-marshall/i-like-to-think-of-weird-fiction-as-an-unceasing-distortion-and/) [Helen Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-marshall/) > [I'm way more in my head acting than I am when I'm writing. So there's a weird love/hate on both ends. But writing, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-holm/i-m-way-more-in-my-head-acting-than-i-am-when-i-m-writing-so-there-s/) [Anders Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-holm/) > [In writing a weird story, I always try very carefully to achieve the right mood and atmosphere and place the emphasis where it belongs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/in-writing-a-weird-story-i-always-try-very-carefully-to-achieve-the/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Writing is such a weird emotional thing. It's hard. If you sit down with a plan to write something, it's going to be harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-miller/writing-is-such-a-weird-emotional-thing-it-s-hard-if-you-sit-down/) [Lauren Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-miller/) > [I sort of like writing about weird characters, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/i-sort-of-like-writing-about-weird-characters-i-guess/) [Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/) ## More by Kelly Link > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [In terms of style, too, I think I've been working with a somewhat limited -- although intentionally limited -- set of tools. So I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/in-terms-of-style-too-i-think-i-ve-been-working-with-a-somewhat/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I didn't do anything as active as deciding that I wanted to be a writer. For one thing, I didn't feel like I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-didn-t-do-anything-as-active-as-deciding-that-i-wanted-to-be-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“When his writing is going well, Gordon Strangle Mars likes to wake up at 6 a.m. and go out driving. He works out new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/when-his-writing-is-going-well-gordon-strangle-mars-likes-to-wake-up/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [It's very unlikely that a writer is going to make a living by writing. So then the question is: how do you balance work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/it-s-very-unlikely-that-a-writer-is-going-to-make-a-living-by-writing/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [Most of the things that I remember from childhood wouldn't make a particularly good story: rescuing worms during rainstorms, our schnauzer attacking a wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/most-of-the-things-that-i-remember-from-childhood-wouldn-t-make-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Tell me which you could sooner do without, love or water.” “What do you mean?” “I mean, could you live without love, or could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/tell-me-which-you-could-sooner-do-without-love-or-water-what-do-you/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [You were going to travel for love, without shoes, or cloak, or common sense. This is one of the things a woman can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/you-were-going-to-travel-for-love-without-shoes-or-cloak-or-common/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [A vampire is a flexible metaphor. You know, death, sex, change, stagnation, loss of self, loss of agency, having to keep one's real self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/a-vampire-is-a-flexible-metaphor-you-know-death-sex-change-stagnation/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“If you were to say a witch's chess set instead of a witch's family , there would be some truth in that. Perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/if-you-were-to-say-a-witch-s-chess-set-instead-of-a-witch-s-family/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Hildy has resigned herself to this, that life is a series of sudden disappearences, leavetakings without the proper good-byes. Someday she too might vanish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/hildy-has-resigned-herself-to-this-that-life-is-a-series-of-sudden/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Jeremy and Karl and Elizabeth have known each other since the first day of kindergarten. Amy and Talis are a year younger...Now the five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/jeremy-and-karl-and-elizabeth-have-known-each-other-since-the-first/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I built a cannon out of ice, and wrapped myself in the funeral carpet which my husbands and wives had woven for me out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-built-a-cannon-out-of-ice-and-wrapped-myself-in-the-funeral-carpet/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“This is the list you carry in your pocket, of the things you plan to say to Kay, when you find him, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/this-is-the-list-you-carry-in-your-pocket-of-the-things-you-plan-to/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) [Explore all 70 Kelly Link quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) ## More Bizarre quotes > [“but 20 years from now it will be bizarre if you walk into a store and the store doesn’t know who you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scoble/but-20-years-from-now-it-will-be-bizarre-if-you-walk-into-a-store-and/) [Robert Scoble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scoble/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [Even the two times that I left, I never really felt like I left the band. It's very bizarre. It's like there's sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wakeman/even-the-two-times-that-i-left-i-never-really-felt-like-i-left-the/) [Rick Wakeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wakeman/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The single greatest pleasure that I have in doing ('Bizarre Foods') is when I meet families with 6, 7, 8-year-olds, or teenagers, who say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-single-greatest-pleasure-that-i-have-in-doing-bizarre-foods-is/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [Someone once bought me loads of clothes from a charity shop - and sent them to me in a black bin liner. That was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-shaw/someone-once-bought-me-loads-of-clothes-from-a-charity-shop-and-sent/) [Suzanne Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-shaw/) > [I wrote the script of Patton. I had this very bizarre opening where he stands up in front of an American flag and gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/i-wrote-the-script-of-patton-i-had-this-very-bizarre-opening-where-he/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [The Kuiper belt region, which I call the third zone because it lies beyond the rocky terrestrial planets and beyond the giant planets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-region-which-i-call-the-third-zone-because-it-lies/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [How I keep trying to force our story into a fairy tale, but from the beginning, it's been more like a nursery rhyme." "Bizarre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/how-i-keep-trying-to-force-our-story-into-a-fairy-tale-but-from-the/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [“Entropy The Disintegrating Integration of Cheez-Whiz Squirts Insipid Inspiration Quoth the Oblong Eclipse of Nether-Knowledge Never Knowing Decaying Matter in a Decaying Orbit Orangutans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ubiquitous-bubba/entropy-the-disintegrating-integration-of-cheez-whiz-squirts-insipid/) [Ubiquitous Bubba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ubiquitous-bubba/) > ['Aiyyaa' was a bizarre film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prithviraj-sukumaran/aiyyaa-was-a-bizarre-film/) [Prithviraj Sukumaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prithviraj-sukumaran/) > [My wife and I have created our own language. We can be at a table with six other people and have an argument without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-wentz/my-wife-and-i-have-created-our-own-language-we-can-be-at-a-table-with/) [Pete Wentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-wentz/) > [I'm quite a good reader of people; I like to meet people, and I can tell if they're lying or not, and I've certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-darby/i-m-quite-a-good-reader-of-people-i-like-to-meet-people-and-i-can/) [Rhys Darby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-darby/) > [On 'Undeclared,' I was actually the only person who had gone to college. Here we are doing this college show, and no one had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-gallo/on-undeclared-i-was-actually-the-only-person-who-had-gone-to-college/) [Carla Gallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-gallo/) > [Our workforce is very co-operative, very flexible, easy to work with and one of the big selling points. The idea that Britain is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/our-workforce-is-very-co-operative-very-flexible-easy-to-work-with/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) [Browse all 717 Bizarre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bizarre/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everyone has a bizarre childhood and unusual life experiences, whether they know it or not. There's no such thing as a normal childhood. 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