Tracy Chevalier quotes

Tracy Chevalier is a British-American novelist, widely known for her historical fiction. Her most famous work, "Girl with a Pearl Earring," was adapted into a successful film. She explores art, history, and women’s stories through vivid and evocative narratives. Here are 23 of her quotes:

I have consistently loved books that I've read when I've been sick in bed. (Tracy Chevalier)
You're so calm and quiet, you never say. But there are things inside you. I see them sometimes, hiding in your eyes. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
Jane Austen easily used half a page describing someone else's eyes; she would not appreciate summarizing her reading tastes in ten titles. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
I read a lot of fantasy. I adored 'Anne of Green Gables'. But my favourite books as a child were probably Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'Little House' series, about a pioneer family in the mid-19th-century American west. I often thought of them as I was writing 'The Last Runaway'. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
As I get older, I use less jewelry - necklace or earrings each morning, not both; my clothes are getting more basic - fewer colours and simpler cuts; and my make-up is stripped back to basics. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
I try to write 1,000 words a day - about three pages. When I reach 1,000 words I feel good. Less than that: a failure. More than that: tired. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
He saw things in a way that others did not, so that a city I had lived in all my life seemed a different place, so that a woman became beautiful with the light on her face. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
Yes, well, life is a folly. If you live long enough, nothing is surprising. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
I had walked along that street all my life, but had never been so aware that my back was to my home. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
Over his shoulder I saw a star fall. It was me. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
We say very little, for we do not need to. We are silent together, each in her own world, knowing the other is just at her back. (Tracy Chevalier)
I wanted to wear the mantle and the pearls. I wanted to know the man who painted her like that. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
Say something worth the words. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
I live with them for a long time in my head. When I first start writing about a character, I don't know them that well. It's through the process of writing of putting them in scenes, and contemplating them-when I've spent more time with them-that they take on more flesh. When I start writing, I have a lot of characters that I'm not sure what their place in the novel will be...And some characters recede as I put more flesh on them. I think I don't really need them; they're not giving me anything. Or they're there for a particular effect, and that's it. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
Usually, I take great pleasure in finding a notebook that's going to match the subject matter. And this time, for some reason, I was in a hurry. I hadn't found the right one, I had started my research, and I couldn't wait for the perfect notebook. So, I just grabbed one that I had. It's the first time though, and it felt a little sad. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
I have huge respect for short stories-I just find them much harder to get right than a novel. A novel is a lot baggier and it gives you more leeway to go on for too long or to make mistakes. Whereas in a short story, every sentence, every word, matters-and that's very hard. I think it's easier to write too much than it is to write exactly the right thing. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
Dialogue is always tricky. Authenticity is almost impossible, and you always end up sounding too olde worlde. What I do is to strip the words back, so I get the dialogue to sound timeless... View quote
Tracy Chevalier
Younger women tend to be busier, wearing more layers and more make-up. I don't know if it's because older women are more confident, or just that we don't care any more. But that pared-down approach is the same with the sentences I write; I take out adjectives and adverbs and keep the description to a minimum. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
It's a rare book that wins the battle against drooping eyelids. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
As a reader, I happen to like turning pages and wanting to know what happens next. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
Normally book ideas come to me in a moment. (Tracy Chevalier)
Although I always said that I wanted to be a writer from childhood, I hadn't actually done much about it until I came to London. View quote
Tracy Chevalier
There are times when I'm hoping the reader will feel slightly sympathetic. She's in a marriage she should never have made and she's kind of stuck in this swamp. And she is, yes, self-centered and a terrible mother; but she also is misunderstood, I think, at times, and frustrated... View quote
Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier - Image
Photo: TimDuncan, CC BY 3.0
Occupation: American Novelist
Born: October 19, 1962
Quotes count: 23
Wikipedia: Tracy Chevalier

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