“A five-hour flight works out to three days and nights on land, by rail, from sea to shining sea. You can chalk off the hours on the back of the seat ahead. But seventy-some hours will not seem so long to you if you tell yourself first: This is where I am going to be for the rest of my natural life.” IfsFirstsLongSeemsNightThreeHoursNaturalFiveSeaLandShiningWork OutFlightSeatsSeventiesDay And NightRailChalkNatural Life Book:The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Source: The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
“Sometimes I can better describe a person by another person's reaction. In a story in my first book, I couldn't think of a way to sufficiently describe the charisma of a certain boy, so the narrator says, "I knew girls who saved his gum."” ThinkingWayFirstsPersonsI CanBookSometimesStoriesCertainGirlBoysSavedReactionsCraftsCharismaGumNarrators Author:Amy Hempel
“I've always known when I start a story what the last line is. It's always been the case, since the first story I ever wrote. I don't know how it's going to get there, but I seem to need the destination. I need to know where I end up. It never changes, ever.” KnowsNeedsFirstsEndsStoriesSeemsLastsLinesKnownCasesKnow HowDestinationNever Change Author:Amy Hempel
“I'm not first and foremost interested in story and the what-happens, but I'm interested in who's telling it and how they're telling it and the effects of whatever happened on the characters and the people.” PeopleFirstsCharacterStoriesHappensHappenedEffects Author:Amy Hempel
