45 Sheila Heti Quotes for You to Enjoy

Sheila Heti

Canadian Writer

Born: Dec 25, 1976

About Life People Think Writing You

Related authors: Alice Munro Charles de Lint Gavin McInnes Kelley Armstrong Laurence J. Peter Nathan Fielder Robert J. Sawyer Stephanie Savage

For me, a memoir is supposed to be understood as a representation of your life, whereas a novel is self-consciously symbolic. Sheila Heti

Life Me Memoir Supposed Understood Representation Whereas Your Novel Symbolic

I don't know what that line is between fiction and non-fiction that other people have in their minds, but to me, when I'm writing, it's just like whatever the next sentence should be is the next sentence. It's not this artificial division. Sheila Heti

Me People Writing Whatever Other Minds Division Between Like Know Non-Fiction Line Artificial Just Fiction Sentence Next Should

I find that when I'm in a relationship, I'm just so 'in it,' you couldn't even call it an art; it's such embroilment. With a friendship, you can choose a little bit more how to behave. You can be guided more. Sheila Heti

Friendship Art Relationship You Guided Bit Find More Call How Behave Just Little Little Bit Choose Even

In 'Sweet Days of Discipline,' the narrator, years after graduating, fortuitously encounters her old friend Frederique at a movie theatre. Frederique invites her home. Sheila Heti

Home Theatre Discipline Old Sweet Invites Days Narrator Years Encounters Friend Graduating Movie After Old Friend Her

Everyone is their own kind of poet - you can't miss it when their words are written down. Sheila Heti

You Words Poet Own Down Everyone Kind Written Written Down Miss

Renown is something people have always wanted, but maybe what's modern is that it's considered a virtue, this desire, rather than a vice. I might be wrong about this. Sheila Heti

People Virtue Considered About Something Rather Something People Wrong Renown Always Than Modern Maybe Wanted Vice Might Desire

I've always had individual friends, but I didn't find the people I wanted to learn from as an adult until my mid-twenties. Sheila Heti

People Find Individual Adult Had Until Learn Always Friends Wanted

A woman will always be made to feel like a criminal, whatever choice she makes, however hard she tries. Mothers feel like criminals. Non-mothers do, too. Sheila Heti

Woman Will Made Whatever Too Criminal Criminals Tries Feel Like She Makes Always Mothers However Choice Hard

I didn't wander into motherhood or nonmotherhood unconsciously, recklessly. I gave it due consideration. Sheila Heti

Motherhood Gave Consideration Recklessly Due Wander

If you want to write from life, you can't really write a story. People are always changing, and I think if we didn't look the same day-to-day, and our self weren't always in our body, would we even be the same? The continuity is in our bodies. Sheila Heti

Many of the traits in my characters are exaggerations of things I see in myself. But in 'How Should a Person Be?' I wasn't trying to write about myself so much as a combination of myself and these women I was seeing in our culture. Sheila Heti

Myself Culture Women Our Characters See Seeing About Write Combination How Person Trying Traits Much Should Many Things

I just always felt whole when I was writing. I felt this kind of beautiful privacy that I never felt in any other way. I feel like there's this great fullness to being alone, and writing is a really vivid way and a really magical way of being alone. Sheila Heti

Beautiful Alone Great Privacy Writing Other Way Kind Vivid Magical Never Feel Like Felt Always Any Just Any Other Way Being Being Alone Really Fullness Whole

Few writers push the reader away with the coolness, dignity, and faint melancholy of Fleur Jaeggy. Sheila Heti

Dignity Few Melancholy Writers Push Faint Reader Coolness Away

To me, something that's beautiful in terms of a book is something that lives inside the reader both as a discrete and complete thing, but also something that seeps out into their life and thoughts. Sheila Heti

Life Beautiful Me Thoughts Book Complete Out Inside Something Both Terms Also Reader Discrete Lives Thing

Raffi is arguably the world's most famous children's singer. Sheila Heti

World Arguably Most Singer Famous Children

Growing up, I never knew that Raffi turned down celebrity endorsements, TV shows, and specials and refused to make merchandise, but it makes sense given how I think about him: My memories are limited to his voice through the record player and the album covers I stared at. Sheila Heti

Memories Sense Down Think TV TV Shows Record About Record Player Given Voice Through Merchandise Never Knew Make Him Makes Limited How His Covers Up Celebrity Refused Turned Shows Growing Growing Up Stared Player Album

To add something to the world should be the question, not not adding something to the world. Sheila Heti

World Add Adding Something Question Should

There's something about a woman's life choices that invites commentary, whether it's been invited or not. Sheila Heti

Life Woman About Something Invited Invites Been Commentary Whether Choices

I feel like every single time I've published a book, there's some little light in me that goes out. I've seen the way people can misunderstand or misinterpret things, if not maliciously, then without a lot of sensitivity. Sheila Heti

Time Me Book People Light Seen Single Every Every Single Time Way Out Some Feel Like Without Misunderstand Single Time Lot Goes Sensitivity Little Then Published Things

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