#on

I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while. At first I tried to write fiction by making up things that were completely alien to my life. ↗

— Amy Tan

#also #completely #did #fiction #first

I started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away. ↗

— Amy Tan

#had #i #novel #second #seven

I think I've always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who was afraid to hope. So, I was more prepared for failure and for rejection than for success. ↗

— Amy Tan

#always #been #brother #deaths #failure

The Beatles and The Stones were basically inspired by American Rhythm and Blues. ↗

— Mick Taylor

#basically #beatles #blues #inspired #rhythm

My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A's from the time I was in kindergarten. ↗

— Amy Tan

#expected #get #had #high #high expectations

She said 'I'm by commission. You don't have to pay anything until you sell anything.' I said, 'Well fine. You want to be my agent and not make anything.' I thought, 'Boy, is she dumb.' ↗

— Amy Tan

#anything #boy #commission #dumb #fine

That was a wonderful period in my life. I mean, I didn't become an artist, but somebody let me do something I loved. What a luxury, to do something you love to do. ↗

— Amy Tan

#become #i #life #love #loved

We are the kind of people who obsess over one word... but we have only one shot to get it right in concert. It was hard the first time I practiced with them. I was so nervous that my vocal chords were paralyzed for about a half-hour. ↗

— Amy Tan

#chords #concert #first #first time #get

You write a book and you hope somebody will go out and pay $24.95 for what you've just said. I think books were my salvation. Books saved me from being miserable. ↗

— Amy Tan

#book #books #go #hope #i

However, the occasional visit of success provides just the excitement an engineer needs to face work the following day. ↗

— Koichi Tanaka

#engineer #excitement #face #following #however