For graduate school I ended up going to the University of Iowa, which is, of course, the best graduate writing program in the country. Elin Hilderbrand More Quotes by Elin Hilderbrand More Quotes From Elin Hilderbrand Sometimes you regret the things you do, but they're over and done. Regretting the things you didn't do is tougher because they're still out there, haunting you with the what ifs. Elin Hilderbrand what-if regret life To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, to be late is to be forgotten. Elin Hilderbrand late forgotten When you peered into the windows of someone else's life, you could only guess what was going on. Elin Hilderbrand window I am a summer person. Elin Hilderbrand persons summer Guilt and no guilt: these were the worst things. The only thing worse than the guilt was the fear of getting caught. Elin Hilderbrand caught worst guilt Iowa City is okay as Midwestern cities go, but theres no food, no culture, no ocean. Elin Hilderbrand iowa ocean cities If you love something, set it free. If it was meant to be, it will come back to you. But this, of course, was bullshit. If you loved something and let it go...it would (hello!) find something else to love. Elin Hilderbrand were-meant-to-be bullshit let-it-go I live a life very similar to my characters in that I live a full-blown summer fantasy from June to September. I go to the beach and work there every day. Elin Hilderbrand day work life beach My books, I will say one thing - they all have a driving narrative, and you have to turn the pages, and the way you do that is to create characters that you really love and care about and put them in a fairly dire situation. Elin Hilderbrand you situation care love I have no skills! I can't speak French, I can't ski, I can't play the guitar... I can barely log on to the Internet! All I know how to do is write novels (thank goodness) and run, and anyone who has seen me run knows I'm not very good at that, either. Elin Hilderbrand good me internet guitar I can cook a good soup from scratch, this is true, and I do know how to drive a stick shift. Elin Hilderbrand true drive good i-can Over the years, I have come to realize that no matter how satisfying fiction is, it becomes that much better when it actually happened. Elin Hilderbrand realize how better matter What I write about in my novels is also what's in my life. Elin Hilderbrand write my-life about life I have this ridiculous exercise regime in the summer that I do not deviate from. Elin Hilderbrand regime ridiculous summer exercise I am a very nerdy reader in that I am as disciplined about my reading as I am about my writing. Elin Hilderbrand i-am about reading writing I consider reading to be part of my job. Elin Hilderbrand consider job part reading I had a Kindle for a brief while, but I dropped it in the ocean, and that was the end of electronic reading for me. Elin Hilderbrand end me ocean reading Like most writers, I read constantly. I used to hide in remote parts of the yard and house so I could read in peace. Elin Hilderbrand hide like house peace For women, my best travel tip is to invest in two to three cashmere ponchos. I buy the brand Minnie Rose. They're good cover in three seasons, and they make wonderful travel blankets. Elin Hilderbrand best good women travel I've tried to tell my kids: If you're reading something engrossing, you'll never, ever be bored. Elin Hilderbrand never you bored reading
