One of the reasons I write in different genres is that I get to have the feeling - even fleetingly - that I'm not just writing like Baggott again. I can escape myself. Julianna Baggott More Quotes by Julianna Baggott More Quotes From Julianna Baggott Love is a luxury. It's something that people are allowed to indulge in when they're not simply trying to survive and keep other people alive. Julianna Baggott luxuryindulge-inlove-is A good novel doesn't just transcend the boundaries of its target market - it knows nothing about target markets. Julianna Baggott target-marketnovelboundaries Sometimes the only way to fix a mistake- is to make it twice. Julianna Baggott mistakesometimesway I believe that one of the most damning things about our culture is the adage to never talk religion and politics. Because we don't model this discourse at the dinner table and at Thanksgiving, we don't know how to do it well and we're not teaching our children about the world and about how to discuss it. Julianna Baggott teachingbelievechildren What does it mean to be Catholic and not a Catholic? I feel adrift, homeless. My Catholic imagination allows me to see the soul as a lit breath, seeking the divine. It persists. Julianna Baggott catholicimaginationmean Beauty, you can find it here if you look hard enough. Julianna Baggott hardenoughlooks Sometimes you meet someone and you know that your life will be different from then on. Julianna Baggott differentknowssometimes The poem has to bear the weight with image, language... the screenplay with dialogue, plot. Julianna Baggott plotweightbears Memories are like water. Julianna Baggott watermemories And I know I'm supposed to feel guilty for wanting people to buy my books... and books in general? Novels and poetry, they belong to the realm of art. How dirty of us to try to hawk art! But, after a decade of hand-wringing and apologies, I can't quite muster the guilt anymore. Julianna Baggott bookdirtyart First, you hand over some basics-overwhelming joy, existential angst, a giving-in to desire, etc. And then you promise to withstand talking idly about the weather, to encourage cliché, to uphold the virtues of average. You hand over the need to be understood and, in return, you get a bar of Normal soap. And you can wash in it and be daily reborn to a safe world of modest, enduring love or, at least, mild, well-mannered bonding. Julianna Baggott averagelovehands I'm about to start something new. I'm waiting to be whelmed. The whelming as you start something new is quite something. Julianna Baggott something-newwaiting Love is selfless, it is a weakness, a giving in, a constant falling. Julianna Baggott love-isgivingfall But there it is: Everyone is alone, for life, and maybe that's not such a bad thing. Julianna Baggott bad-things Red Sox fans have been pushed to the brink over the years, but that's how faith grows stronger. Julianna Baggott strongerfansyears Some of the best work done to combat the Republicans has been wit and humor. Julianna Baggott wit-and-humorrepublicandone The truth is that for those 86 long years when the Red Sox went without a World Series win, fans were not only in a recession, but trapped in a longstanding, deeply entrenched sports depression. Julianna Baggott winningsportsyears Our imaginations are strong as children. Sometimes they get shoved aside, these imaginations. They get dusty and mildewed with age. The imagination is a muscle that has to be put to use or it shrivels. Julianna Baggott strongimaginationchildren I'm a writer of faith who worries about the intolerance of religion. I look at the past and fear we haven't learned from it. I believe that humanity is capable of evil as well as great acts of courage and goodness. I have hope. Deep down, I believe in the human spirit, although sometimes that belief is shaken. Julianna Baggott evilbelievepast You want the greatest trick for writing a novel? Here it is: imagine urgently whispering your story into one person's ear - and only one. This one visualization will clarify every word choice you make. Julianna Baggott choicesstorieswriting
