Maria Semple Quotations

I know what it's like to feel snobby; I know what it's like to feel anxiety; I know what it's like to feel like busted because you're crazy.

I just feel like there's this illicit thrill in reading other people's mail and spying on their lives.

I guess that's what art is: Turning something painful into something people can relate to.

I don't mind finding these ugly sides to my personality and exaggerating them because that's something you can write towards.

I attended TED in 2007 and 2008, the last two years the conference was held in Monterey.

Even when I was writing 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette,' I started to appreciate Seattle's many charms.

Both 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' and my first novel, 'This One is Mine,' are pretty complex on a story level, and fun reads as a result.

And dialogue, I'm good at it, and it's because it's the only thing you have to work with in TV writing.

An artist must create. If she doesn't, she will become a menace to society.

I learned that comedy is born out of strong characters. I won't begin writing a character until I have a clear take on them.