The writing process is not just putting down one page after another-it's a lot of writing and then rewriting, restructuring the story, changing the way things come together. Rebecca Stead More Quotes by Rebecca Stead More Quotes From Rebecca Stead Life is a million different dots making one gigantic picture. And maybe the big picture is nice, maybe it's amazing, but if you're standing with your face pressed up against a bunch of black dots, it's really hard to tell. Rebecca Stead black nice different Trying to forget really doesn't work. In fact, it's pretty much the same as remembering. But I tried to forget anyway, and to ignore the fact that I was remembering you all the time. Rebecca Stead remember trying facts Well, it's simple to love someone," she said. "But it's hard to know when you need to say it out loud. Rebecca Stead loud simple needs For me one of the most important things is not feeling like you have to protect yourself if you're with a real friend. Rebecca Stead important real feelings If I'm afraid of someone on the street, I'll turn to him (it's always a boy) and say, "Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?" This is my way of saying to the person, "I see you as a friend, and there is no need to hurt me or take my stuff. Also, I don't even have a watch and I am probably not worth mugging." So far, it's worked like gangbusters... And I've discovered that most people I'm afraid of are actually very friendly. Rebecca Stead hurt boys people She's called the secretary, but as far as I can tell she basically runs the school. Rebecca Stead secretary running school I think the idea that in a riddle there are two answers or two doors and that you have to pick the right one is almost sort of delightful to kids who are making so many choices every day and who often don't know for a while if they've made the right one. It's not as if you make a choice and then *ding* you have some sense of "oh, this is perfect and I'm happy" - it's never that simple. Rebecca Stead simple kids thinking I don't know. I just feel stuck, like I'm afraid to take any steps, in case they're the wrong ones. Rebecca Stead cases steps life Mom. She always says to look at the big picture. How all of the little things don't matter in the long run. . . I know that Mom is right about the big picture. But Dad is right too: Life is really just a bunch of nows, one after the other. The dots matter. Rebecca Stead dad mom running I still think about the letter you asked me to write. It nags at me, even though you're gone and there's no one to give it to anymore. Sometimes I work on it in my head, trying to map out the story you asked me to tell, about everything that happened this past fall and winter. It's all still there, like a movie I can watch when I want to. Which is never. Rebecca Stead writing winter fall The truth is that I think that most people, and most people in this book, 'Goodbye, Stranger', are really doing their best but they're stumbling all over the place and they're hurting each other deliberately and by accident. Rebecca Stead hurt book thinking Pajamas are good for the soul. Rebecca Stead pajamas soul Einstein says common sense is just habit of thought. It's how we're used to thinking about things, but a lot of the time it just gets in the way. Rebecca Stead common-sense way thinking Life is really just a bunch of nows, one after the other. Rebecca Stead life-is bunch When you trust your readers, you're hoping they will see what you see. Not every book is for every person. Rebecca Stead book I'm an old man, and she's gone now. So don't worry, okay? Rebecca Stead gone worry men Nice tights," I snorted. Or I tried to snort, anyway. I'm not exactly sure how, though people in books are always doing it. Rebecca Stead nice book people Mom's always telling me to smile and hoping I'll turn into a smiley person, which, to be honest, is kind of annoying. Rebecca Stead honest mom kind I remember in junior high school, which is what we called it, suddenly I was looking at myself, almost through other people's eyes, and thought: how does the world see me? So that was one of the things I was really interested in, when I was writing Goodbye Stranger. Rebecca Stead eye goodbye school Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It's like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten. And the way you usually act, the things you would have normally done, are like these ghosts that everyone can see but pretends not to. Rebecca Stead light dark mean
