Sometimes poetry--words--give us a small, lovely look at ourselves. And sometimes that is enough. Patricia MacLachlan More Quotes by Patricia MacLachlan More Quotes From Patricia MacLachlan What is perfect? Journey, a thing doesn't have to be perfect to be fine. That goes for a picture. That goes for life....Things can be good enough. Patricia MacLachlan good-enoughjourneyperfect In a way, my childhood was one long bunch of pages... I read and read and read. Patricia MacLachlan childhoodpageslong I have great respect for children. And I have great respect for their ability as writers. Patricia MacLachlan great-respectabilitychildren All the world can be found in poetry. All you need to see and hear. All the moments, good and bad, joyous and sad. Patricia MacLachlan poetryworldneeds Life is made up of circles ... Life is not a straight line ... And sometimes we circle back to a past time. But we are not the same. We are changed forever. Patricia MacLachlan circleslifepast You should know that there are some things for which there are no answers, no matter how beautiful the words may be. Patricia MacLachlan answersmaybeautiful I think its important to remember where I began. I know that when I talk to other writers, say, writers from the South or writers from abroad, its where they begin as children that is important to them. Patricia MacLachlan importantchildrenthinking I never work from an outline, and often I dont know how the story will end. Patricia MacLachlan know-howendsstories I love to talk to children about making mistakes. Its important that I tell them about how I dont get it right the first time. We live in such a perfectionist society, and they see so many finished products and polished performances. Patricia MacLachlan importantmistakechildren I have to write what I can write, and writing the text of a picture book is like walking a tightrope, if you ramble off... As my friend Julius Lester says, A picture book is the essence of an experience. Patricia MacLachlan essencewritingbook My greatest fear is being somewhere without a book. Patricia MacLachlan greatest-fearbook I, myself, write to change my life, to make it come out the way I want it to. But other people write for other reasons: to see more closely what it is they are thinking about, what they may be afraid of. Sometimes writers write to solve a problem, to answer their own question. All these reasons are good reasons. And that is the most important thing I'll ever tell you. Maybe it is the most important thing you'll ever hear. Ever. Patricia MacLachlan writingpeoplethinking Being married to a psychologist, I realize that I learn more from imperfections. Patricia MacLachlan marriedimperfectionrealizing Im working on a bunch of things with my daughter Emily. In some ways, shes a smarter and better editor than I am. Patricia MacLachlan editorsdaughterway Fact and fiction are different truths. Patricia MacLachlan differentfactsfiction There is always something to miss, no matter where you are. Patricia MacLachlan where-you-aremattermissing My mother, as a girl, had remembered this woman from Maine, someone who was part of the extended family somehow, and I recall her talking about this great, risk-taking woman. There are the most amazing, heroic stories in everybody's lives. Patricia MacLachlan womanfamilygirlmother I think what happens is you write how you grew up. And I was born on the prairie, and so everything is kind of spare on the prairie. And so I'm just used to writing in that way. 'Sarah, Plain and Tall' was that way. And most of my fiction is. I like writing small pieces. Somehow it just suits me. Patricia MacLachlan thinkmeyousuits Each time I write a new piece, whether a novel, a picture book, a speech or anything, really, it has so much to do with what I'm going through personally or a problem I'm trying to work out. When I wrote my novel 'Baby,' my three children had all just gone out the door. Patricia MacLachlan pictureworktimechildren I have great editors, and I always have. Somehow, great editors ask the right questions or pose things to you that get you to write better. It's a dance between you, your characters, and your editor. Patricia MacLachlan bettergreatyoudance
