“I think that inevitably, the trouble our characters go through is a kind of metaphor for what's happening in ourselves.” ThinkingKindCharacterTroubleHappeningsMetaphor Author:Alice Mattison
“I think the difference between writing as someone and writing for them is that when you write for someone, you take on a kind of political burden or message, which I don't think we have the right to do.” ThinkingWritingKindPoliticalDifferencesMessagesBurden Author:Alice Mattison
“I remember I had had one woman who had three or four kids, and some of them were having problems. I said, 'Maybe you could go write somewhere else, away from your house.' And sure enough, all kinds of wonderful stuff emerged. She was keeping too much charge of herself because she couldn't stop being a mother when she was in the house. You have to find your own way of letting loose, if you're one of those people.” PeopleIfsWayWritingKindSaidEnoughProblemKidsRememberMotherThreeHouseStuffToo MuchFourWonderfulAll KindsSomewhere ElseOne WomanBeing A Mother Author:Alice Mattison
“Every once in a while someone says, 'You can't really learn anything, if you're really a writer then you wouldn't need to do it.' But I think what people need is the sense of not being alone. They go to MFA programs to be part of a community of people who care, and then you start caring about your friend who is trying to edit a magazine and your other friend who is stuck in the middle of her poem. There you have all kinds of things to worry about besides your own success.” PeopleIfsThinkingNeedsTryingKindCareCommunityWorryMiddleProgramCaringStuckAll KindsMagazinesWho CaresEditsStuck In The Middle Author:Alice Mattison