I like that original romance of having a pen and a legal pad and going anywhere in the world and being able to write a novel with just those two things. Alice McDermott legaloriginalpad Change image and share on social
I'm a coastal person. I grew up in Long Island and lived in San Diego. I felt landlocked in Pittsburgh. Psychically, it just wasn't the place for me. Alice McDermott coastaldiegofelt Change image and share on social
Loss is inevitable - you have to be blind or naive to think otherwise. Alice McDermott blindinevitableloss Change image and share on social
I think place and time for me is often a matter of convenience, something I can use to another end rather than something I'm trying to define because it's somehow fascinating to me in itself. It's more what the place can do for the larger goals I have for the work. Alice McDermott conveniencedefineend share on social
Memory is not pure. Memories told are not pure memories; memories told are stories. The storyteller will change them. I've always been interested in that. Alice McDermott changehaveinterest Change image and share on social
All my friends had grandparents who had accents. I thought all grandparents were supposed to have accents. My friends were all second-generation, as I was. Alice McDermott accentfriendgeneration Change image and share on social
I think 'Charming Billy' ultimately is a novel about faith and what we believe in and, above all, what we choose to believe in. Alice McDermott billycharmchoose Change image and share on social
The thing that fiction can do is look from the inside out rather than from the outside in. Even memoir leaves me somewhat frustrated. I think now we need a poet to uncover what isn't on the surface. Alice McDermott fictionfrustrateinside Change image and share on social
I'm writing all the time. I tend to work on at least two books simultaneously. I'll spend time with one, and then I'll spend time with the other. Finishing takes whatever time it takes. Alice McDermott bookfinishsimultaneously Change image and share on social
I was the youngest; I had two imperious older brothers - I didn't get to often complete sentences at the dinner table. So writing was a way of saying what nobody asked me to say. Alice McDermott askbrothercomplete Change image and share on social
