Sarah Dessen Quotes

I mean, at first, it was kind of disappointing. But people recover from disappointment. Otherwise we'd all be hanging from nooses. Right?

Look at it this way: I might be saying you're fat, but at least I'm not punching you in the face.' Are those the only options?' Not always. Just sometimes.

That was the thing about being on the inside: the world was just going on, even when it seemed like time for you had stopped for good.

But all the love in the world won't save a sinking ship. You have to either bail or jump overboard.

Impulsiveness can be charming but deliberation can have an appeal, as well.

There was no short answer to this; like so much else, it was a long story. But what really makes any story real is knowing someone will hear it. And understand.

I wanted to tell him so. Find the right words, string them together in the ideal way, knowing that here they would have the best chance of sounding perfect.

There was something striking about a single key. It was like a question waiting to be answered, a whole missing a half. Useless on its own, needing something else to be truly defined.

Sometimes. It was a good escape. Until, you know, it wasn‟t.

You just had to know where to look.

This was how I was dealing with everyone and everything lately, taking the good when it came, and the bad the same way, knowing each would pass in its own time.

How ballsy it was to just assume you know, with one glance, the things another person could live without. As if it was the same for everyone, that simple.

How it seemed like you could see everything, but certain things were blocked out, hidden.

It wasn’t so much that I was positive. I just wasn’t fully subscribing to such a negative way of thinking anymore.

When someone starts to change, and it’s obvious, it's sort of natural to wonder why. Right?

It's only advice. Ignore it if you want.

I'd chosen instead to just change my route, go miles out of the way, as if avoiding it would make it go away once and for all.

but accepting help doesn‟t have to mean giving up control.

It was a basic plot in any number of her books: girl strikes out, makes good, finds love, gets revenge. In that order. The making good and striking out part I liked. The rest would just be bonus.

As if he was beating me to the punch, his words living forever, while I was left speechless, no rebuttal, no words left to say.

I'd seen another shade of him, and if it had been light where we were now, he'd have seen the same of me. So I was grateful, as I had been so often in my life, for the dark.

As if at the age of eighteen life already sucked beyond any hope of improvement.

I planned my whole future around Adam," she said now, quietly. "And now I have nothing." "No," I told her, "now you just don't have Adam. There's a big difference, Lissa. You just can't see it yet.

I should have told you from the start. I will let you down.

Writing a novel is like childbirth: once you realize how awful it really is, you never want to do it again.

It seemed like this day could go in so many directions, like a spiderweb shooting out toward endless possibilities.

When you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well.

It passed, though. That was the bad thing. It always passed.

I didn't trot my pain out to show around. I kept it better hidden than anyone. I did.

I don't talk about my books while I'm writing them: not even my husband knows what a novel's about until it's done.

I think whenever a writer is really enjoying themselves and liking what they are doing, that shows on the page.

I used to worry I was entirely uninteresting, but the truth is I think if my life was more exciting I'd never have any time to write.

My agent is so totally honest, which is just what every writer needs. She won't let me sell a crappy book, even if I want to.

I just have to be super strong when it comes to my work time. Shut the browser, ignore the email alerts, and just WRITE.

I've found in my own life that if my writing isn't going well, not much else will. It is the one constant, the key to everything else.

Teaching was great for me, because I got to show people how writing can really change the way you see not only yourself but the world.

I think I'm too lazy a writer to do something like historical fiction. You have to do so much research. I just write what I know.

I think when you're a beginning author with any publishing company, there's only so much they can put behind you.

I never really know what I'm going to write next until it comes to me. So we'll just have to see what happens.

I think readers are just looking for things that maybe they recognize or can relate to in the books.

I wasn't very happy in high school: it was a confusing and sort of sad time for me.

I'm just writing what I know. I've never been much of a reader of fantasy, and I think you write what you, personally, enjoy reading.

Every book teaches me something about my process, and they are all challenging in one way or another.

My experience is that sequels are rarely as good as the originals.

Some writers pick a topic and write around that, but I like to include it all.

I think if you're going to show a true representation of any one life, it can't be about any one thing. I try to see more of a full picture, with the romance just a single part.

I hated high school. I was not the greatest student, participated in no activities, and spent most of my time hanging out in my parking lot.

I always have a goal, even if I keep it to myself. It allows me to keep pushing myself.

In school, writing was the only thing that really came naturally to me, but it wasn't until college that I realized that I could do it for more than just fun.

Once I’m done with a book, I’m done! I’m just not a sequel kind of girl. By the time I’ve finished a book I’ve read it so many times that it’s time to move on.