I obviously read and adore traditional fiction. I teach traditional fiction; I also teach all kinds of not-so-traditional fiction. Heidi Julavits More Quotes by Heidi Julavits More Quotes From Heidi Julavits I really did for a few weeks think, I'm in pain because the world needs me to save it. Which is so ridiculous and egotistical. Heidi Julavits pain needs thinking A friend of mine urged me to see my pain as an opportunity. And since the same psychic that contacted Dion Fortune had told me that I was a "teacher" - she didn't mean at Columbia, she meant in the spiritual sense - I decided my affliction was the universe telling me that it was time to stop writing fiction and become the spiritual guru I was clearly meant to be. Heidi Julavits pain spiritual teacher The belief that one's suffering has a greater cosmic purpose, and is thus more exciting and more noble, well, it made a lot of sense to me. Heidi Julavits noble purpose suffering If, at some future point, my face collapses around my eyes, I'd probably do something about it. My eyes are where I live, and if people couldn't see them, no one would know me. Heidi Julavits eye faces people I like playing with a popular cliché and making it my own by half-embracing it, half-disemboweling it. Heidi Julavits my-own half I'm at that age where I notice friends checking out my face and wondering, Has she been Botoxed? There's a new map there people that are trying to read. I think if I did get any kind of enhancement I would be very public about it. I don't want people wondering - I want them to know. Heidi Julavits age people thinking Whether I'm writing about plumbers or psychics or psychic plumbers, I want to find a creative space that imprisons me usefully, so I can deviate with purpose. Heidi Julavits creative-space psychics writing As such, anything is always possible, even if your protagonist is a plumber. But it's the possibility, the limitless possibilities, of any fake life, that make writing about it so challenging. Heidi Julavits fake challenges writing I don't think fake people living in a fake house in a fake suburb are any less dismissible or believable than a fake psychic attending a fake school in a fake town. Nothing's inherently believable about any kind of fiction, because all of it's untrue. Heidi Julavits fake-people school thinking Structure is, for me, the most fun challenge about writing novels. Heidi Julavits challenges writing fun We're not saints, any of us. Maybe somebody is, but I don't know those people. But we all know people who behave very smugly and are very egotistical and put you down as a manner of improving their own place in the world or improving their own place in the world. Heidi Julavits saint people world When my husband first read a draft, he said, "You spend too much time describing the characters' outfits." He was right. I removed much of the clothes talk, but quite a bit remained. Heidi Julavits clothes husband character When I was writing my first draft, and feeling grandiose, I e-mailed an artist/clothing designer I know and suggested we collaborate on a fashion line inspired by the outfits my characters wore. I regret that we never did that. Heidi Julavits fashion regret writing We want to believe we couldn't be replaced, and that the people we love are irreplaceable. Heidi Julavits want believe people I guess what I find so interesting about memory, and its role in a person's identity, is how the attempt to achieve accuracy requires you to remove yourself from your life in an authorial manner. Heidi Julavits identity memories interesting I go through life now reminding myself to remember something, and I do this while that something is happening. I'll be experiencing a moment and I'll say to myself, "Remember this!" Otherwise my whole life just blurs by. Heidi Julavits blur remember-something moments I've subsequently become conscious of MAKING MEMORIES. Which makes me sound like a scrapbooker. Heidi Julavits making-memories sound memories I think the one reason that writers marry other writers - one of the reasons that I married another writer - was, I fell in love with that writer. But second of all, I had been married before and a source of marital strife was me needing to go away for a couple of weeks to write or it's Saturday and I think I just need to work today and not hang out with you. Heidi Julavits couple writing thinking You should never read online comments if you want to keep thoughts above the belt. Heidi Julavits online should want People don't hijack planes anymore because that old system of hijacking in order to barter for a prison release or get to a different country no longer works, exactly, because 9/11 recoded the hostage's interpretation of a hijack. If a hijacker isn't trying to use the plane as a missile, then he is in danger of being killed by the hostages. There is no minor terror threat anymore. No mid-level terrorism. Heidi Julavits order country people
