Dan Alatorre > Quotes

“It’s rare to see a man step up and say “I can be a great father and learn about gymnastics with my daughter and take her to dance lessons because I love her.” I can make time to blow bubbles on the back porch. It doesn’t cause your man card to be revoked.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Great writing isn't safe.”
― Dan Alatorre

“What's my writing style? Lazy.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Writers get ideas all day every day. The FedEx guy delivers a package from Sears and the writer is thinking how it could actually be a ticking time bomb.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Open your soul and put it out there and dare the world to read it, ready to have them stomp on you and laugh, but ready to do it again the next day.”
― Dan Alatorre

“I think if a writer is being honest they’d admit to a file full of a dozen or more stories that are all started to varying degrees. They’re like the kid who wants to be a firefighter and a police officer and an astronaut.”
― Dan Alatorre

“You can do it. Don't let anyone say you can't. You can.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Don’t polish it forever, put it out there. At some point the changes aren’t improvements, they’re just changes.”
― Dan Alatorre

“You have to put yourself out there as a writer, you can’t play it safe.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Pound it out, get it done, write every day. No excuses. Kerouac said you can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club. Damn straight. You’ll sleep a lot better getting your word count in than another quick Twitter check or keeping up to date on the Kardashians.”
― Dan Alatorre

“The more time you can put between you and your manuscript, the more fresh your eyes become and the more mistakes you’ll catch.”
― Dan Alatorre

“The more time you can put between you and your manuscript, the more fresh your eyes become and the more mistakes you’ll catch. Let a chapter rest for a day, you’ll see ways to improve it. Let your completed book rest a month or more and you’ll see stuff that’s long or that you want to skip. Read it out loud to get rid of awkward phrases and listen to your critique partners if they are good.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Not knowing stuff - like how your story ends before you start writing - is the seed of a lot of writer’s block.”
― Dan Alatorre

“My father and my brothers came to me and said, “We missed it, we were working. Take time to savor every moment because if you blink twice you’ll be walking her down the aisle.” Strangers would come up to us in grocery store after a particularly grueling night – I’m sure our weary expressions said it all - and they would tell us, “Enjoy these moments, even the difficult ones.” It sunk in. So I knew that it all happens fast. It doesn’t seem like it when you’re up at 3am feeding a cranky kid who won’t go back to sleep.

But we made that our time. We found ways to make it fun and special, and to realize that one day she’d be off to college and I’d wish I could have another moment with her like this, just me and her, at 3am playing a game of peek a boo. On that day, I’d wish I had this day back.”
― Dan Alatorre

“I wasn’t a class clown, because my parents were very strict and because nuns in general have no sense of humor. I mean zero, zip, nada. I wasted some of my best stuff on those old hags! Look at these knuckles - those are ruler marks, and they’re still visible all these years later. But I could usually get out of trouble at home if I could get my mom laughing. That’s a huge ace up your sleeve as a kid.”
― Dan Alatorre

“People are suckers for the truth and they know it when they see it.

Open your soul and they will stop and watch.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Honesty makes stories real and characters memorable. From there, taking them to where they need to go will be all the development they need.”
― Dan Alatorre

“You hold in your heart everything you need to know to write anything your story needs written.”
― Dan Alatorre

“You can ask somebody just about anything if you say you’re a writer first.”
― Dan Alatorre

“In the book (Savvy Stories) you see some very real, very personal moments. The first week of Savvy’s life was the longest week of ours. We spent five days in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) worrying that our newborn daughter might die. It was touch and go for a while, and it was extremely difficult to write about. Chapter two gets a lot of people crying. But because we put that honesty out there, readers said “Okay, I can trust this guy.” Then they were better able to laugh with us, too.”
― Dan Alatorre

“I write most of my stories the way people talk, complete with an occasional run-on sentences and stuff that seems to go around in a few circles before making its point. In a comedy, you can do that.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Write the best thing you can, whatever it is. It is deeply moving to read a letter from Spain or somewhere that says they read my book and fell in love with my daughter. Or that a book I wrote changed their life. It is amazing to be on the receiving end of that. Don't deny yourself that.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Brooke dashed into the resort, searching for a store or gift shop, hoping one was still open. She needed to find a suitable replacement for her toys.”
― Dan Alatorre, The Box Under the Bed

“You need an interesting voice. A grabber opening is great, compelling characters are awesome, but the voice – your unique voice – is what carries your story. Find your voice. Own your voice. Learn to tell interesting stories using your unique voice. That is the key.”
― Dan Alatorre

“I wasn’t a class clown, because nuns have no sense of humor. They have rulers.”
― Dan Alatorre

“I get up at 4am or 5am and write for a few hours before the rest of the world wakes up. And I don’t drink caffeine. That combination is basically a deal breaker for every other author I know. I don’t usual check email, Facebook or Twitter until at least 6:30am, either, another killer for most authors.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Here’s my advice: you hold in your heart everything you need to know to write anything your story needs written. Dig deep and go where the pain and fear and joy are, and put it out there. The minute you shy away from pure honesty in your writing, you become a liar and people will smell it. People are suckers for the truth and they know it when they see it. Open your soul and they will stop and watch.”
― Dan Alatorre

“I come up with an idea and I’ll start throwing little suggestions for possible scenes into a folder, but before I seriously sit down to write Word One, they whole outline is finished. Sue me. It works.”
― Dan Alatorre

“Daddy! Daddy! Please Daddy, help me! I’ll be good! I swear, I’ll be good! Please help”
― Dan Alatorre, Nightmareland

“Kids are flat-out freaking hilarious if you are paying attention. Not just my kid, but every kid.”
― Dan Alatorre