Lynn Johnston Quotes
Complaining is good for you as long as you're not complaining to the person you're complaining about.
In a way, a certain amount of self-criticism is a good thing, because it keeps you humble. Realizing that no matter what success you've achieved, you can still make enemies makes you humble, too.
Not being able to sleep is terrible. You have the misery of having partied all night... Without the satisfaction.
You think about child abuse and you think of a father viciously attacking a daughter or a son, but in my family it was my mother. My mother, I would say, was a... very brutal disciplinarian.
And my father was a comic. He could play any musical instrument. He loved to perform. He was a wonderfully comedic character. He had the ability to dance and sing and charm and analyze poetry.
But even though all this was going on at home, if someone had tried to take me away and put me in a children's home, I couldn't have handled it. Even though my mother was very brutal, it was my home.
Never tell anyone that you're writing a book, going on a diet, exercising, taking a course, or quitting smoking. They'll encourage you to death.
I know it sounds crazy, but I have had far more connection with my parents after their deaths.
You have to be in love with your story ... It's the love of the light; the time of day; of watching the moment unravel.
Mom and Dad would stay in bed on Sunday morning, but the kids would have to go to church.
The toughest question has always been, "How do you get your ideas?" How do you answer that? It's like asking runners how they run, or singers how they sing. They just do it!
I've always felt that life is a novel, and part of it is written for you, and part of it is written by you. It's up to you to write the ending, ultimately.
Its taken me a long time to become the person I am, for all the ugliness to fall away. The rotten flesh is gone, and the seed is there. I can touch that now.
Sure, I've had some bad times, but everybody does. But people don't get to talk about them like I do, unless they do to a therapist. People don't get to put them in the paper like I do.
When you're shy, a camera becomes an entry into life. It was a kind of shield I could hide my shyness behind, and it allowed me to become an active observer rather than a passive one.
I often think you bring unhappiness on yourself, because if you don't like yourself very much, you allow yourself to be influenced by people who reinforce that.
I had a terrible marriage the first time around because I had no self-confidence, even though I had tremendous self-confidence.
But I married a guy who treated me very badly, but I was happy. I was miserable, so I was happy.
My mother was a very literate person who had educated herself. She had an exceptional vocabulary.
