Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessenis an American writer who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth6 June 1970
CityEvanston, IL
writing topics picks
Some writers pick a topic and write around that, but I like to include it all.
reading writing thinking
I'm just writing what I know. I've never been much of a reader of fantasy, and I think you write what you, personally, enjoy reading.
writing thinking people
I think I'm way too much of a control freak to co-author anything with anyone. I have a hard enough time writing with myself! I admire people that can do it, but it's not for me.
writing school emotional
I was actually pretty miserable in high school. I couldn't wait for it to be over. And when it finally was, I remember sitting at graduation with all these classmates getting nostalgic and emotional already and all I could think was, "Get me out of here. I never want to see you people again." So it's ironic that I spend half my day putting myself back there by choice [while writing].
jobs giving-up writing
I think the most important thing is just to write. It sounds so simple, but sometimes it's not. You can get so distracted - -by having to work other jobs, or what other people have to say about your writing - -but the one thing that really matters is that you just keep going, especially when you're working on a novel. It's so easy to get discouraged and give up.
fun writing school
In school, writing was the only thing that really came naturally to me, but it wasn't until college that I realized that I could do it for more than just fun.
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.