Top 263 Quotes & Sayings by Judy Blume - Page 3

I'm not the world's best mother, though kids always assume I must be.

I'm phobic about thunderstorms.

I can't read fiction when I'm writing fiction, because I get intimidated if I read something really good.

The women's movement was slow in coming to suburban New Jersey.

Anybody who says, 'My childhood was completely happy,' is a person who isn't remembering the truth.

some changes happen deep down inside of you. And the truth is, only you know about them. Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be.

You've got to enjoy whatever you can and forget about the rest.

Fear is often disguised as moral outrage.

I can't let safety and security become the focus of my life.

Censors never go after books unless kids already like them. I don’t even think they know to go after books until they know that children are interested in reading this book, therefore there must be something in it that’s wrong.

Concentrate on how good if feels to be alive. No matter what. Just to see the color of the sky, just to smell the air, and feel the wind in your face

Do not tell me what to do and do not tell me what I can't do.

Librarians save lives by handing the right book at the right time to a kid in need.

Another thing all writers have in common is we're all observers. We pay attention to detail.

Ideas come from everywhere - they come from what you see and hear and imagine.

The best books come from someplace deep inside.... Become emotionally involved. If you don't care about your characters, your readers won't either.

We are friends for life. When we’re together the years fall away. Isn’t that what matters? To have someone who can remember with you? To have someone who remembers how far you’ve come?

I made promises to you that I'm not sure I can keep. None of it has anything to do with you. It's just that I don't know what to do now. You must be thinking what a rotten person I am. Well, believe me, I'm thinking the same thing. I don't know how this happened or why. Maybe I can get over it. Do you think you can wait - because I don't want you to stop loving me. I keep remembering us and how it was. I don't want to hurt you ... not ever.

Something awful happens to a person who grows up as a creative kid and suddenly finds no creative outlet as an adult.

I try to create new characters in each book I write. That's what makes writing fun and interesting for me.

I use a computer, but before I begin each new book I keep a notebook. I write down everything that comes to mind during that period before I actually begin. It might take months or weeks. That notebook is my security blanket so that I never have to face a blank screen (or blank page). But I print out often and my best ideas usually come with a pencil in my hand.

My insides still turn over when he looks at me that certain way.

With "Margaret," I remember clearly it was, you know because I did remember it clearly. I was young. I was young in terms of experience and what did I know about and I had an incredible memory from my own childhood. And so it never occurred to me to write for any other age group. And I thought I'm going to write a book and I'm going to tell the truth.

Things change…things happen…things you can’t even imagine when you’re young and full of hope.

I like revising much, much better than getting down a first draft. The first draft is just getting the pieces to the puzzle. Then I get to put the puzzle together!

Books opened up a whole new world to me. Through them I discovered new ideas, traveled to new places, and met new people. Books helped me learn to understand other people and they taught me a lot about myself. ... Some books you never forget. Some characters become your friends for life.

My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it.

Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.

our finger prints dont fade from the lives we touch

I was Little Miss Perfect. That's where all the secrets come in, because you know damn well you are not perfect, but you think your parents want you to be. And so you pretend.

Determination and hard work are as important as talent.

A person without curiosity may as well be dead.

Its all about your determination, I think, as much as anything. There are a lot of people with talent, but its that determination.

She wondered if all the firsts in her life would go by so quickly, and be forgotten just as quickly.

The truth will make you odd.

I think about Lenaya and Hugh. Will they know how much I've changed this year? Will they have changed too? I'll wait until tomorrow to find out. And then it's possible I won't find out after all. Because some changes happen deep down inside of you. And the truth is, only you know about them. Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be.

It's not so much that I like him as a person God, but as a boy he's very handsome.

hi I hope u want to be my friends

I'm a rewriter. That's the part I like best . . . once I have a pile of paper to work with, it's like having the pieces of a puzzle. I just have to put the pieces together to make a picture.

My parents gave me that gift of "reading is a good thing." I mean my mother was afraid of everything. But she was never afraid that Judy is reading.

Something will be offensive to someone in every book, so you've got to fight it.

I am not scared of you, I am scare of these feelings.

What's the point of thinking about how it's going to end when it's just the beginning?

Believe in yourself and you can achieve greatness in your life.

Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.

Never give up! And remember, determination is as important as talent.

My mother was my greatest fan.

"Summer Sisters" is probably my least autobiographical book. The whole idea started with rowing down the pond. And I heard an explosion. I don't like sudden loud noises. They scare me. And then all these people came running down the hill and jumped in the water in their finery and a bride and groom was with them, and that's where it all started.

I wanted to write honest books for kids because I didn't have those when I was a kid.

Do not let anyone discourage you. If they try: get determined, not depressed.

In this age of censorship, I mourn the loss of books that will never be written, I mourn the voices that will be silenced-writers' voices, teachers' voices, students' voices-and all because of fear.

I don't believe in writer's block. There are good days when you're writing and less good days. I've learned that if it's not happening to walk away and return later. I doodle a lot and often get my best ideas with a pencil in my hand while I'm doodling. The problem is, sometimes I lose my doodles and that's bad!

That's good when you don't know what you're doing. But you're doing it and it's spontaneous and you're not afraid.

[I]t's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.

My characters live inside my head for a long time before I actually start a book. They become so real to me, I talk about them at the dinner table as if they are real. Some people consider this weird. But my family understands.

How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives.

A library is where you meet fascinating characters you never forget.

But if you aren't any religion, how are you going to know if you should join the Y or the Jewish Community Center?

I stop and think before I start a new book and ask myself do I really want to spend the next year or two or three with these characters because if I don't, then I shouldn't be writing about them.

"Summer Sisters" was actually was a huge influence on "Girls" because it was the first thing I ever consumed that sort of looked at the way that female friendship can be glorious and can be complicated and can be so like a worse betrayal than something romantic and it just showed these archetypes of femininity than totally sort of individuated them and exploded them.