Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessenis an American writer who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth6 June 1970
CityEvanston, IL
running book writing
I am never happy when I finish a book. I always start feeling good, and then I get to about Page 75 and start losing momentum - and I kind of pull it together at the end, but by then I think it's just all over. It's become almost a running joke among my agent and my editor - I always say that, so they don't take me seriously anymore.
writing want awful
Writing a novel is like childbirth: once you realize how awful it really is, you never want to do it again.
writing wrapping-paper notes
I write thank-you notes the minute I throw the wrapping paper away.
book writing thinking
Each time, I think I'm never going to write another book. It never gets easier.
writing school trying
I love YA, and it's been a really good fit for me. But at some point, I would like to try something else: a collection of short stories, or writing about something other than high school. A lot has happened to me since I was eighteen.
nice mean writing
I just can't ever be a free spirit and just relax. When it comes to work, this is good. I'm very disciplined, which with writing is often half the battle, or more. But it also means that if I want to, say, play hooky and chocolate and watch Bravo all afternoon, I feel horribly guilty. I wish I could find a nice balance.
writing thinking worry
I used to worry I was entirely uninteresting, but the truth is I think if my life was more exciting I'd never have any time to write.
beach writing motherhood
I honestly don't have many creative outlets. I'm not crafty - although motherhood has forced me to try to be - and I can only draw trees, beaches, and clouds. I'm a so-so cook except for deviled eggs. Writing has always been the one thing I feel that I am pretty good at doing. But it's enough, thank goodness.
teaching writing people
Teaching was great for me, because I got to show people how writing can really change the way you see not only yourself but the world.
writing keys found
I've found in my own life that if my writing isn't going well, not much else will. It is the one constant, the key to everything else.
book writing tired
I think having a good agent is key. I've been with mine for ten years now, and she's very honest with me. There are a lot of times I've sent her books that were not so good because I was tired of writing, or panicked about money, and she's told me flat out, "You don't want this to be your next book. Trust me."
husband book writing
I don't talk about my books while I'm writing them: not even my husband knows what a novel's about until it's done.
strong writing email
I just have to be super strong when it comes to my work time. Shut the browser, ignore the email alerts, and just WRITE.
writing thinking historical
I think I'm too lazy a writer to do something like historical fiction. You have to do so much research. I just write what I know.