I would advise any beginning writer to write the first drafts as if no one else will ever read them - without a thought about publication - and only in the last draft to consider how the work will look from the outside.
Anne Tyler

I'll write maybe one long paragraph describing the events, then a page or two breaking the events into chapters, and then reams of pages delving into my characters. After that, I'm ready to begin.
Anne Tyler

I'm too shy for personal appearances, and I've found out that anytime I talk about my writing, I can't do any writing for many weeks afterward.
Anne Tyler

I've always enjoyed studying the small clues that indicate a particular class level.
Anne Tyler

I've always thought a hotel ought to offer optional small animals. I mean a cat to sleep on your bed at night, or a dog of some kind to act pleased when you come in. You ever notice how a hotel room feels so lifeless?
Anne Tyler

If I waited till I felt like writing, I'd never write at all.
Anne Tyler

In real life I avoid all parties altogether, but on paper I can mingle with the best of them.
Anne Tyler

It seems to me that good novels celebrate the mystery in ordinary life, and summing it all up in psychological terms strips the mystery away.
Anne Tyler

It seems to me that since I've had children, I've grown richer and deeper. They may have slowed down my writing for a while, but when I did write, I had more of a self to speak from.
Anne Tyler

It's true that it's a solitary occupation, but you would be surprised at how much companionship a group of imaginary characters can offer once you get to know them.
Anne Tyler

My decision to start a new one is just that, a decision, since I never get inspirations.
Anne Tyler

My family can always tell when I'm well into a novel because the meals get very crummy.
Anne Tyler

My stories are never quite good enough.
Anne Tyler

My writing day has grown shorter as I've aged, although it seems to produce the same number of pages.
Anne Tyler

None of my own experiences ever finds its way into my work. However, the stages of my life - motherhood, middle age, etc. - often influence my subject matter.
Anne Tyler

Not until the final draft do I force myself to remember that I'm going to have to think about how it will affect other people.
Anne Tyler

People always call it luck when you've acted more sensibly than they have.
Anne Tyler

She worded it a bit strongly, but I do find myself more and more struck by the differences between the sexes. To put it another way: All marriages are mixed marriages.
Anne Tyler

The Amateur Marriage grew out of the reflection that of all the opportunities to show differences in character, surely an unhappy marriage must be the richest.
Anne Tyler

The hardest novel to write was Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant.
Anne Tyler