At times I felt that the universe fabricated from the power of imagination had stronger and more lasting contours than the blurred realm of the flesh-and-blood creatures around me.

Write what should not be forgotten.

Writing is like making love. Don't worry about the orgasm, just concentrate on the process.

My worst flaw is that I tell secrets, my own and everybody else's.

Literary characters, like my grandmother's apparitions, are fragile beings, easily frightened; they must be treated with care so they will feel comfortable in my pages

Mediante la fotografía y la palabra escrita intento desesperadamente vencer la condición fugaz de mi existencia, atrapar los momentos antes de que se desvanezcan, despejar la confusión de mi pasado.

... if I'd been brought up protected and happy, what the devil would I write about now? With this in mind, I've tried to make my grandchildren's childhood ass difficult as possible so they will grow up to be creative adults. Their parents are not at all appreciative of my efforts.

I'd realized that in writing happiness is useless-without suffering there is no story.

What is writing after all but an attempt to sort out the confusion of life?” @isabelallende