“I know when a story is finished when there is not a single thing more I can think to do to it. And since I know at the start what the last line will be, I know when I've reached that point as logically as I can that it's finished. As for the rewriting-it's not foolproof, of course, but if you're honest about having thought of every possibility and you still come back to what you have, what more can you do?” IfsThinkingKnowsWritingStillsI CanStoriesLastsCoursesLinesHonestPossibilityFinishedRewritingFoolproof Author:Amy Hempel
“The worst of it is over now, and I can't say that I am glad. Lose that sense of loss--you have gone and lost something else.” I CanLostLosesLossGoneWorstGladOne Step At A Time Book:The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Source: The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
“The worst of it is over now, and I can't say that I am glad. Lose that sense of loss—you have gone and lost something else. But the body moves toward health. The mind, too, in steps. One step at a time. Ask a mother who has just lost a child, How many children do you have? "Four," she will say, "—three," and years later, "Three," she will say, "—four.” YearsMindChildrenI CanBodyMovingMotherThreeAsksLostLosesLossStepsGoneFourWorstGladOne Step At A Time Book:The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Source: The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
“There’s so much I can’t read because I get so exasperated. Someone starts describing the character boarding the plane and pulling the seat back. And I just want to say, Babe, I have been downtown. I have been up in a plane. Give me some credit.” WantGivingHas BeensI CanCharacterGive MeCreditPlanesSeatsPullingDescribingBabeDowntown Author: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 probably have less revision than those who have that wonderful rush of story to tell - you know, I can't wait to tell you what happened the other day. It comes tumbling out and maybe then they go back and refine. I kind of envy that way of working, but I just have never done it.” KnowsWayKindI CanDoneStoriesWaitingWonderfulHappenedEnvyRevisionTumbling Author:Amy Hempel
“I sleep with a glass of water on the nightstand so I can see by its level if the coastal earth is trembling or if the shaking is still me.” IfsStillsI CanEarthWaterSleepLevelsGlassesShakingTremblingCoastal Book:The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Source: The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
