Kids want acceptance from their peers, but in two different, opposing ways: They want to be like everyone else and they want to be different from everyone else. So the question is: How do you reconcile these opposing longings? E. L. Konigsburg More Quotes by E. L. Konigsburg More Quotes From E. L. Konigsburg They are saying that if life has a structure, a staff, a sensible scaffold, we hang our nonsense on it. And they are saying that broken parts add color and music to the staff of life. E. L. Konigsburg color broken add Every now and then, a person must do something simply because he wants to, because it seems to him worth doing. And that does not make it worthless or a waste of time. E. L. Konigsburg waste doe want Finish. The difference between being a writer and being a person of talent is the discipline it takes to apply the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair and finish. Don't talk about doing it. Do it. Finish. E. L. Konigsburg discipline differences writing Silence does for thinking what a suspension bridge does for space -- it makes connections. E. L. Konigsburg space bridges thinking I don't think there is any feeling I like more than the one that someone is glad to see me. —Connor Kane E. L. Konigsburg glad feelings thinking Nathan, how can you stand playing the same piece over and over again?" And Grandpa Nate answered, "Why don't you ask me how I can stand making love to the same woman over and over again? E. L. Konigsburg grandpa pieces making-love Because after a time having a secret and nobody knowing you have a secret us no fun. And although you dont want others to know what the secret is, you want them to at least know you have one. E. L. Konigsburg daughter mother fun When I visit schools and talk to students about writing, I give them one word of advice and I give it to them quickly and loudly-FINISH! Starting something is easier than finishing it. You must have discipline to go from a few sentences, to a few paragraphs, to a piece of writing that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Finishing something bridges the difference between someone who has talent and one who does not. My best advice? Apply the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair-and finish. FINISH! E. L. Konigsburg bridges writing school Indecisiveness wears a person out. E. L. Konigsburg indecisiveness indecision persons I was the first one in my family to go away to college. I came from a small town where there was no guidance in the high school at all. It was a mill town, and I never knew anyone who made their living from the arts. When you did go away to college, you went away to be something - an engineer, or a teacher, or a chemist. E. L. Konigsburg you family teacher school When I was in college at Carnegie Mellon, I wanted to be a chemist. So I became one. I worked in a laboratory and went to graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. Then I taught science at a private girls' school. I had three children and waited until all three were in school before I started writing. E. L. Konigsburg college science children school I think it's important to experience kindness so that you can experience it more in the future. I believe that patterns of emotional behavior are set down before adolescence. And I think that if you have not observed kindness, you will not recognize it. You have to experience kindness in order to be kind. E. L. Konigsburg you future experience kindness Characters are so important to a story that they actually decide where the story is going. When I write, I know my characters. I know how things are going to end, and I know some important incidents along the way. E. L. Konigsburg end story important way I was born in New York City. But my family moved when I was still an infant. Except for a year and half when we lived in Youngstown, Ohio, I grew up in small towns in Pennsylvania. I graduated from high school in Farrell, Pennsylvania. E. L. Konigsburg city high-school family school I get ideas for my books from people I know and what happens to them, from places I've been and what happens to me, and from things I read. E. L. Konigsburg know me people ideas After I won the Newbery Medal for 'From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler,' children all over the world let me know that they liked books that take them to unusual places where they meet unusual people. E. L. Konigsburg me children people world Readers let me know that they like books that have more to them than meets the eye. Had they not let me know that, I never would have written 'The View From Saturday.' E. L. Konigsburg view never me eye Growing up in a small town gives you two things: a sense of place and a feeling of self-consciousness - self-consciousness about one's education and exposure, both of which tend to be limited. On the other hand, limited possibilities also mean creating your own options. E. L. Konigsburg feeling place you education I think most of us are outsiders. And I think that's good because it makes you question things. E. L. Konigsburg things good think you When I began writing in the mid-1960s, I thought it was not important for readers to know whether I was male or female. Also, I was a great admirer of E.B. White, so I may have thought that it would bring me luck to submit my first manuscript as 'E.L.' But if I were starting out today, I would use my first name. E. L. Konigsburg great me luck today
