Aimee Bender Quotes

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Aimee Bender

Profession : Novelist

Birth : June 28, 1969

I don't eschew autobiographical writing, but I'm not interested in mine to be so straightforward. The things that tend to move me the most are often those that I have to figure out its meaning for myself. The human being's ability to make a metaphor to describe a human experience is just really cool.

Aimee Bender

I like birthday cake. It's so symbolic. It's a tempting symbol to load with something more complicated than just 'Happy birthday!' because it's this emblem of childhood and a happy day.

Aimee Bender

Large meadows are lovely for picnics and romping, but they are for the lighter feelings. Meadows do not make me want to write.

Aimee Bender

When language is treated beautifully and interestingly, it can feel good for the body: It's nourishing; it's rejuvenating.

Aimee Bender

For me as a person, friendships are incredibly important to me, but in writing, they can distract me.

Aimee Bender

In terms of foods for me, I think I have more of the usual associations - foods from childhood that I associate with care and love, from relatives or special restaurants like the kind elderly man who dusted seasoning salt on French fries at the corner burger joint.

Aimee Bender

I write on a very strict 2-hour-a-day schedule, and I really respond to structure and invented rules. So even if I'm finding out good information on a character, I will stop when I'm set to stop.

Aimee Bender

Language is the ticket to plot and character, after all, because both are built out of language.

Aimee Bender

At readings, audience members sometimes ask if I keep writing past the two hours if I'm on a roll, but I don't. I figure that if I'm on a roll, it's partially because I know I'm about to stop.

Aimee Bender

For me, even in my first book, the pleasures of writing anything magical is that it has to be physical. It has to be grounded and very much in this world. Then, I get to play with all the consequences of this new thing.

Aimee Bender

Writing can be a frightening, distressing business, and whatever kind of structure or buffer is available can help a lot.

Aimee Bender

Generally, I think most of my writing tends to have some kind of magical element to it. That's the way I can access the emotional life of the character.

Aimee Bender

I have trouble describing my own style, since it's sort of like describing my own eye color or something.

Aimee Bender

I love food. I'm not a great cook, but I love to cook, and I like how different it is from writing.

Aimee Bender

I liked Hans Christian Andersen because the tales were so dark and tragic.

Aimee Bender

I think teaching keeps me honest because if I'm up in front of a class talking about what I think is important about fiction while knowing I myself have just failed to do that hours earlier at my computer - it's a good and humbling reminder.

Aimee Bender

I find I can write for two lines, and then I have nothing else to say. For me, the only way to find something comes through the sentence level and sticking with the sentences that give a subtle feeling that there's something more to say.

Aimee Bender

I'm obsessed with adolescence. I love to write about people in their 20s. It's such a fraught and exciting and kind of horrible time.

Aimee Bender

I really like feeling connected to people and feeling like I have a good, solid sense of empathy.

Aimee Bender

I love all the arts - so museums, theatre, music, walks near trees or by the ocean, time with people, psychological readings.

Aimee Bender