A Quote by Bobbie Ann Mason

Most of the time I was in the Northeast, I lived in the country, and I think that helped me to discover my material for writing. — © Bobbie Ann Mason
Most of the time I was in the Northeast, I lived in the country, and I think that helped me to discover my material for writing.
Writing has certainly helped me explore about 20,000 versions of my authentic self. I suppose that's what most writers discover if they write long enough: there are a lot of selves roaming around in there.
Keeping a Diary all my life helped me to discover some basic elements essential to the vitality of writing.
I have a hard time writing. Most writers have a hard time writing. I have a harder time than most because I'm lazier than most. [...] The other problem I have is fear of writing. The act of writing puts you in confrontation with yourself, which is why I think writers assiduously avoid writing. [...] Not writing is more of a psychological problem than a writing problem. All the time I'm not writing I feel like a criminal. [...] It's horrible to feel felonious every second of the day. Especially when it goes on for years. It's much more relaxing actually to work.
I went down and spoke to some of the people who lived in the neighborhood in Miami. At the end of the day I think my connection with Tarell [Alvin McCraney] is what helped me the most.
I've been a musician and a songwriter for years, since I was a teenager, and made my living doing that on and off for a long time, so when it came to writing comedy material, it was the thing that came easiest to me, the most natural way of writing.
My writing is of a very different kind from anything I've heard about. All this mythological material is out there, a big gathering of stuff, and I have been reading it for some forty- or fifty-odd years. There are various ways of handling that. The most common is to put the material together and publish a scholarly book about it. But when I'm writing, I try to get a sense of an experiential relationship to the material. In fact, I can't write unless that happens ... I don't write unless the stuff is really working on me, and my selection of material depends on what works.
Most of the important composers in our country are clustered in the Northeast.
Some people have written that my writing has helped them go on. It has helped me too. The writing, the roses, the 9 cats.
I think those walks to the studio were the most enjoyable times for me, because I could get lost in my head and think about what I wanted the album to sound like as I was writing. For the most part, it was great to have all that time alone writing the songs.
Songwriter friends will be like, 'Oh my God, when are you going to put out 'Love Triangle?'' It's just been that song for me that really helped me get a lot of writing sessions and helped jump-start my writing career.
I always try to say what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling, and without fear of what others will say or think, and that's how I've always lived. Sometimes, this has ended up hurting me, and other times, it has helped me, but I think you can never forget who you are, and I've always been myself, and that one of the things I'm most proud of.
Writing in English made me become a foreigner in my own country. It helped me create the necessary distance to my homeland.
I've been writing a lot of country music again. I've written some bluegrass material. I'm having a good time doing that.
I think it's dangerous to think you know what you're writing. I usually don't know, and usually I just discover it in the course of writing. I envy those writers who can outline a beginning, a middle, and end. Fitzgerald supposedly did it. John Irving does. Bret Easton Ellis does. But for me, the writing itself is the process of discovery. I can't see all that far ahead.
While I've lived in cities for most of my adult life, I really prefer the quiet, boring, mundanity of the country. It's the best place for me to work, think, and invent.
Every once and a while somebody writes a script, but even regardless of what age you are, most of the actors would all agree that it's all based upon material and the material has got to spark with you. It may be great material but you think it's great material for somebody else. Or it's great material and I'm perfect for it. So, you just have to make that judgment and if you feel in the mood to do it.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!