The minute you start putting words on paper you're eliminating possibilities. Joan Didion eliminateminutepaper Change image and share on social
In Brentwood we had a big safe-deposit box to put manuscripts in if we left town during fire season. It was such a big box that we never bothered to clean it out. Joan Didion bigbotherbox Change image and share on social
The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself. Joan Didion accidentallycompulsioncompulsive share on social
My own fantasies of what life would be like at 24 tended to the more spectacular. Joan Didion fantasylifespectacular Change image and share on social
Although a novel takes place in the larger world, there's always some drive in it that is entirely personal - even if you don't know it while you're doing it. Joan Didion drivelargepersonal Change image and share on social
I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people. Joan Didion basicindifferenceinterest Change image and share on social
You have to pick the places you don't walk away from. Joan Didion pickplacewalk Change image and share on social
My only advantage as a reporter is that I am so physically small, so temperamentally unobtrusive, and so neurotically inarticulate that people tend to forget that my presence runs counter to their best interests. Joan Didion advantagecounterforget share on social
