Top 66 Quotes by Maria Semple

I love epistolary novels and became wildly excited when the form presented itself to me.

This is Seattle. We're supposed to have superior taste.

I learned that comedy is born out of strong characters. I won't begin writing a character until I have a clear take on them.

One reason I find all this character growth and narrative swerving so exhilarating is because I never got to do it when I wrote for TV. Our characters needed to remain consistent from week to week.

I steer clear of any novel that gets billed as a 'meditation.'

My father was a screenwriter, and I kind of grew up in that world.

I survived many a youth hostel bunk room reading Tolstoy by flashlight.

An artist must create. If she doesn't, she will become a menace to society.

And dialogue, I'm good at it, and it's because it's the only thing you have to work with in TV writing.

I can only do really serious writing for a couple of hours. And then I always go on a walk. I do a one-to-two-hour walk; I don't go running or hard hiking.