Ann Beattie Quotations

While I would agree that I write about serious subjects, and that they're not necessarily the most pleasant subjects or even the most pleasant people, as a writer I just think about the humorous aspects of these things - that's what keeps me going when I'm writing a story.

I like a lot of Margaret Atwood, I like much of Alice Munro. Again, if you were to ask me about male writers, there's often a novel I admire, but not all of their works.

I must say also that it's never worked to my disadvantage that I have long, blond hair.

The admiration of another writer’s work is almost in inverse proportion to similarities in style.

I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with characters, not the other way around.

Also minimalism is a term that all of us who share so little in common and who are lumped together as minimalists are not terribly happy with.

I could name a few songs and say exactly what summer they came out and what boy I thought I was in love with when I was fourteen years old, but I think that music used to be really more a part of the culture when people went out dancing in a different way than they do now.

I think that I'm serious, but I don't think that I'm inordinately bleak.

I've spent my life supporting myself.

If you could have a book called My Favorite Six Stories, I don't think I'd have trouble doing that.