Stacey

“How could I, a professional observer, miss the main story, not even pick up the hints?”
― Rachel Zimmerman, Us, After: A Memoir of Love and Suicide

“Language gives us an insight into the way women are viewed in a male-dominated society . . . A man is commanding—a woman is demanding. A man is forceful—a woman is pushy. A man is uncompromising—a woman is a ball-breaker. A man is a perfectionist—a woman’s a pain in the ass. He’s assertive—she’s aggressive. He strategizes—she manipulates. He shows leadership—she’s controlling. He’s committed—she’s obsessed. He’s persevering—she’s relentless. He sticks to his guns—she’s stubborn. If a man wants to get it right, he’s looked up to and respected. If a woman wants to get it right, she’s difficult and impossible. If he acts, produces, and directs, he’s called multitalented. If she does the same thing, she’s called vain and egotistical.”
― Barbra Streisand, My Name Is Barbra

“YOU FREQUENTLY VIOLATE THESE RULES and then listed his own ten rules for good writing: Write to express, not to impress. Be proud of what you write. Rewrite always. Limit forms of the verb “to be.” Choose the exact word. Avoid clichés. Use cautiously simile, metaphor, and personification. Set inanimate objects against one another. Vary sentence structure. Create transitions. Proof your clean copy. If”
― Alice McDermott, What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction

“Because I am a Catholic, I find that the notion of the sacramental—of the ordinary transformed into the extraordinary, of outward signs of inner grace—appeals to me and so finds its way into my work. Because I am a Catholic, the language of ritual, its repetitions and refrains, appeals to me and so finds its way into my work.”
― Alice McDermott, What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction