Meg Cabot Quotes


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Meg Cabot Quotes

Meg on Love

"Unrequited love is all right in books and things, but in real life, it completely sucks."

-- Haunted

"'A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.' I really hate this expression. I bet fish would totally want bicycles."
-- Princess on the Brink

"Needless to say, the fact that he actually spoke to me at all practically caused me to pass out. And then the fact that he was actually saying something that sounded like it might be a prelude to asking me out--well, I nearly threw up. I mean it. I felt really sick, but in a good way."
-- The Princess Diaries

Meg on Life

"Being brave is when you have to do something because you know it is right, but at the same time, you are afraid to do it, because it might hurt or whatever. But you do it anyway."
-- All-American Girl

"It's truly weird how everyone just thinks they can bring me Diet Coke and everything will be okay. Especially since it's pretty much true."
-- Queen of Babble Gets Hitched

"Whoa. If high school was suppose to be the best years of my life--at least so far--I was truly destined to have a sucky adulthood."

-- Airhead

"Sometimes we need to take big risks if we want to find out who we are, and what we were put on this planet for."
--Queen of Babble

"But then I remembered something Grandmere had once assured me of: No one has ever died of embarrassment--never, not once in the whole history of time."
-- Forever Princess

"You know. Life's short. If you don't try new things, you'll never know what you're best at. And you can only make time for new things by quitting the things you know don't work for you."
-- Teen Idol

"Sometimes in life, you fall down holes you can't climb out of by yourself. That's what friends and family are for--to help. They can't help, however, unless you let them know you're down there."
-- Princess Mia

"Remember... life is short. Each moment you have is precious. Treasure every second. Don't spend them doing anything you don't love."
-- Queen of Babble Gets Hitched

"There is a difference between listening and hearing, just as there is a difference between seeing and knowing."

-- All-American Girl

Meg on Books and Writing

What is the theme of your books?
I hope readers will realize that they are not alone in feeling the way I did when I was in middle and high school-like a great big freak! Also that “normal” is not what you see on TV. Being true to yourself, and to your friends, is way more important than being part of the “in crowd.” I am living proof that it is possible to profit from being a middle and high school freak.
-- MegCabot.com

What books did you like to read when you were a kid?
I read far too many books for me to list here, but some of what I read included a lot of fantasy, such as Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series, Nancy Springer’s Book of Isle tetrology (including The Sable Moon), and the Lloyd Alexander books. I also liked STAR WARS and SPIDERMAN comic books. I really loved some classics, too, like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Lorna Doone, and the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. And I am a big fan of Mary Stewart, especially Nine Coaches Waiting, Madame, Will You Talk? and Thornyhold. For more books, read my blog.
-- MegCabot.com

What books do you like to read now?
I like to read way too many books to list here. I love mysteries of all kinds, chick-lit, humorous memoirs, and I also love to read magazines of virtually every kind there is. I also read YA! I hesitate to list my favorite authors because I know I’ll leave someone important out, but off the top of my head a few of my favorite authors include Robert B. Parker, Sue Townsend, Susan Juby, Michele Jaffe, Megan Crane, Carrie Fisher, Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall, Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie, Alexander McCall Smith, Patricia Wentworth, Barbara Park, Judy Blume, Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Palmer, PD James, Barbara Cartland, Edward Eager, JK Rowling, Sarah Dessen, Neil Gaiman, Robert Ludlum, John Grisham, the list goes on and on, may I stop now?
-- MegCabot.com

What inspires you to write?
I just love to write, the same way other people love to play golf. Although, just like Tiger Woods, I have my good days and bad days. The challenge is what makes it fun!
-- MegCabot.com

Where do you get your ideas?
Ideas come from everywhere…my own experiences, my imagination, newspapers, television. That’s why if you want to be a writer, it’s a good idea to carry around something to write with, so you can jot ideas down as they occur to you! Much of what is in my books is taken directly from my own diaries that I kept when I was in high school…I still have them, though I am the only one who will ever be allowed to read them. I just use the selective bits that won’t incriminate me.
-- MegCabot.com

My advice to young writers is:

Write the kinds of stories you like to read. If you don’t love what you’re writing, no one else will, either.
Don’t tell people you want to be a writer. Everyone will try to talk you out of choosing a job with so little security, so it is better just to keep it to yourself, and prove them all wrong later.
You are not a hundred dollar bill. Not everyone is going to like you … or your story. Do not take rejection personally.
If you are blocked on a story, there is probably something wrong with it. Take a few days off and put the story on a back burner for a while. Eventually, it will come to you.
Read--and write--all the time. Never stop sending out your stuff. Don’t wait for a response after sending a story out…start a new story right away, and then send that one out! If you are constantly writing and sending stuff out (don’t forget to live your life, too, while you are doing this) eventually someone will bite!
It is nearly impossible to get published these days without an agent. The guide I used to get mine was called the Jeff Herman Guide to Agents, Editors, and Publishers. It was well worth the money I spent on it, since it lists every agent in the business and what he or she is looking for. It also tells you how to write a query letter, what to expect from your publisher, and all sorts of good stuff…a must buy for any aspiring author!
And above all, become a good listener. In order to write believable dialogue, you need to listen to the conversations of the people around you—then try to imitate them! So my advice is always to try to keeping quiet, listen only, and let other people to do the talking for a change. You’ll be surprised how much this will improve your writing skills (and how many people will think you’re a really sage person, when all you’re basically doing is spying on them).
Good luck, and keep writing! If I can do it, so can you!

-- MegCabot.com