But what are our stories if not the mirrors we hold up to our fears? Wally Lamb More Quotes by Wally Lamb More Quotes From Wally Lamb Getting a job scared her but she was determined not to shy away from risk. That's what life's all about. Climbing out onto the airplane wing and jumping off. Wally Lamb airplanejumpingjobs Power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed. Wally Lamb wellsdefeatused If you want your prayers answered, get up off your knees and do something about them. Wally Lamb kneesprayerwant Its the most breathtakingly ironic things about living: the fact that we are all-identical twins included-alone. Singular. And yet what we seek-what saves us-is our connection to others. Wally Lamb ironicconnectionsfacts Religion's just a well-oiled profit-driven denial of the randomness of it all. Wally Lamb denialprofitdriven As my early drawings warned me, where humans go, lions and tidal waves follow. Wally Lamb wavelionsdrawing When I was a kid, I was surrounded by girls: older sisters, older girl cousins just down the street... except for an older boy named Vito who threw rocks. Each year I would wish for a baby brother. It never happened. Wally Lamb cousingirlbaby The roundness of life's design may be a sign that there is a presence beyond ourselves. Wally Lamb designmay Dialogue comes naturally to me and I can hear the characters' voices in the scenes. Wally Lamb voicescenecharacter I wanted to connect a modern story with a myth that I had read. Wally Lamb mythmodernstories I like to be surprised. The best writing is when it defies me, when it starts going a different way than I had planned. Wally Lamb differentwritingway I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing. Wally Lamb writingcharacterfirsts Hardest thing: creating something out of nothing - the first draft is torturous. Wally Lamb hardestcreatingfirsts I think I write fiction for the opportunity to get beyond the limits of my own life. Wally Lamb writingopportunitythinking When I was a kid... I needed to belong. Wally Lamb neededkids People waste their happiness - that's what makes me sad. Everyone's so scared to be happy. Wally Lamb scaredwastepeople I love revising. If you demystify the process, it comes down to four strategies: what can I do to make the draft better; what should I cut out to make it stronger; what do I need to do to clarify it; and finally, what should I reposition. Wally Lamb strongercuttingneeds Human behavior in the midst of hardship caught my attention very early on, and my first stories were all pictures, no words. Wally Lamb hardshipstoriesattention First I laughed my way through Elinor Lipman's book of political tweets. Then I put my ear to the ground and listened to Molly Ivins guffawing from the grave. Lipman is a piquant poetic rock star! Wally Lamb rocksstarsbook Take what people give you. Drink their milkshakes. Wally Lamb drinkgivingpeople
