My parents used books as bribes: if I got straight A's on my report card, they would buy me one book. This was completely unnecessary, as I always got A's, and they bought me books all the time anyway, and we all knew it.

Celeste Ng

Categorized in : Me Parents Book Time

You don't feel like smiling? Then what? Force yourself to smile. Act as if you were already happy, and that will tend to make you happy.

make-you-happy force feels

The writer's job, after all, is not to dictate meaning, but to give the reader enough pieces to create his or her own satisfying meaning. The story is truly finished—and meaning is made—not when the author adds the last period, but when the reader enters the story and fills that little ambiguous space, completing the circuit, letting the power flow through.

space jobs giving

What made something precious? Losing it and finding it. by Celeste Ng

What made something precious? Losing it and finding it.

findings losing made

When you mention to people growing up in Cleveland they bring up the river catching on fire, or LeBron James leaving, they have these references, but no one imagines ending up there.

catching-on growing-up fire

I think this is something that is naturally built in in people, a need for attention and a need to be special and we are always trying to find a balance.

always-trying people thinking

If you told people you were moving to Ohio, they wouldn't congratulate you. They'd say "OH WHY would you move there?" as if that was something that happened to you and you had to deal with.

ohio people moving

I am very active on Twitter and one thing that keeps popping up is "How do I balance having a kid and writing?" And I know it should not be as aggravating, but I know no one ever asks a male writer that. Or, any male that.

balance writing kids

I would never tell myself, you have to write 20 pages today or something. But I do try to show up. Read what I wrote, fix things.

pages writing trying

They never discussed it, but both came to understand it as a promise: he would always make sure there was a place for her. She would always be able to say, Someone is coming. I am not alone.

able life promise

There is something about Midwest in general, that has kind of an... by Celeste Ng

There is something about Midwest in general, that has kind of an underdog quality.

midwest underdog quality

I'd like to think of my self as not melancholic at all, I think I'm a pretty cheerful person, really.

cheerful self thinking

The people are maybe still as aware of the differences but they are more accepting of it that what we saw in the 70s and 80s, but the undercurrent is still there. There are maybe no racial slurs anymore, no firecrackers in mailboxes, the distinction is much more subtle.

saws differences people

Being asked, "Where are you REALLY from?" It makes one feel OTHER... by Celeste Ng

Being asked, "Where are you REALLY from?" It makes one feel OTHERED.

feels

I am in a mixed race marriage myself, and I have a mixed race son....The racial perception interest is probably always going to be there to some extent.

perception race son

If a news camera shows up, people will line up, they want to be seen. But at the same time they want both to be chosen and not singled out. I think that is an endless struggle within most.

struggle people thinking

After a while, the fear became a habit, too. by Celeste Ng

After a while, the fear became a habit, too.

habit

If you see harassment happening, speak up. Being harassed is terrible; having bystanders pretend they don't notice is infinitely worse.

pretend see you speak

It's easy to feel helpless - like you can't fight the tide. But remember: small actions can have a huge impact, and one person like you can inspire others to action.

feel fight you remember

Whenever I travel, I seem to get sick - it's probably inevitable when you're on a plane every single day.

day you sick travel

I think, in the United States, we talk about race as a black and white issue... We're generally talking about it as if it's a binary equation whereas, in fact, there's more than two races and, in fact, those races blend together. There are a lot of different ways that people identify.

black-and-white black together people