294 Quotes by Ann Patchett

I believe, in my better moments, that there is a plan and things go not the way we want them to but the way they should.

Why is it that we understand playing the cello will require work, but we attribute writing to the magic of inspiration?

Maybe the private life wasn't forever. Maybe everyone got it for a little while and then spent the rest of their lives remembering.

You are always someones favorite unfolding story

The secret is to keep adding voices, adding ideas, and moving things around as you put together your life. If you’re lucky, putting together your life is a process that will last through every single day you’re alive.

I love a large cast of characters. That's the way life is: it's flooded with people and we keep them all straight.

Maybe there would be a bad outcome for some of the others, but no one was going to shoot a soprano.

Art stands on the shoulders of craft, which means that to get to the art, you must master the craft.

Show kindness whenever possible. Show it to the people in front of you, the people coming up behind you, and the people with whom you are running neck and neck. It will vastly improve the quality of your own life, the lives of others, and the state of the world.