Holly Black Quotes

Powerful Holly Black for Daily Growth

About Holly Black

Holly Black is an acclaimed American writer of young adult literature, best known for her richly imaginative, dark fantasies that captivate readers of all ages. Born on December 10, 1980, in Boston, Massachusetts, Black spent much of her childhood moving around the United States due to her father's work as a jazz musician. This transient lifestyle instilled in her an appreciation for stories and their power to transport one to other worlds. At the age of sixteen, Black published her first professional poem in "Strange Horizons," an online speculative fiction magazine. Her interest in the fantastical deepened when she discovered the works of authors like Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, and Charles de Lint during high school. These influences are evident in Black's own works, which often explore themes of magic, mythology, and complex relationships. In 2004, Black released her debut novel, "Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale," the first installment in the critically acclaimed Modern Faerie Tales series. The books were adapted into a musical titled "The Cruel Kingdom" at the Yale School of Drama in 2015. Black's most famous work, however, is the Spiderwick Chronicles co-authored with Tony DiTerlizzi. This five-book series follows the Grace family as they navigate a world of faeries hidden within their ancestral home. The books were adapted into a feature film by 20th Century Fox in 2008. Black's latest series, the Folk of the Air, is a dark and enchanting tale of a human girl who becomes Queen of the Faerie Realm. This series cements Black's position as a leading voice in young adult fantasy literature. Today, Holly Black continues to captivate audiences with her richly detailed worlds, complex characters, and intricate plots. Her work serves as an inspiration for a new generation of writers seeking to explore the fantastical realms of the human imagination.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to yourself. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, met in a book."

This quote by Holly Black highlights the shared human experience that comes with reading. It suggests that when we encounter profound thoughts or emotions in literature, we feel a sense of validation and connection because others have felt similarly. Reading becomes more than just an individual activity; it's a means to share and understand our unique perspectives with others across time and space. Essentially, Black emphasizes the power of literature to connect us on a deeper level by revealing universal truths about the human condition.


"You don't have to be friends with everyone who loves you."

This quote suggests that it's not necessary to maintain a close friendship or relationship with everyone who expresses affection for you, as intimacy and shared experiences are important factors in the dynamics of true friendships. It emphasizes the need to differentiate between the levels of connection one has with various people, acknowledging that love alone may not be enough to sustain a deep, meaningful friendship.


"The truth doesn't have to be kind. It has to be true."

Holly Black's quote emphasizes the importance of honesty over emotional comfort or kindness when it comes to sharing or seeking the truth. Truth, in this context, is defined as a factual statement about reality, regardless of whether it hurts someone's feelings or not. This idea underscores the belief that honesty, even if it may be uncomfortable at times, contributes to understanding and knowledge, fostering growth and trust in relationships.


"Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you."

This quote suggests that love is not a deliberate search or an achievement, but rather it is an encounter or realization that happens spontaneously and unexpectedly in one's life. It emphasizes the idea that love comes to us, often at times when we least expect it, and its presence can significantly impact our lives. This perspective encourages patience and openness, as it suggests that true love will find its way to those ready to embrace it.


"Sometimes the things you most need to know, you have to discover by yourself. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to figure out who you are."

This quote emphasizes the importance of self-discovery and personal growth. It suggests that understanding oneself is a profound journey that often requires time, effort, and introspection. The process of self-realization can be challenging as it involves uncovering truths about one's identity, beliefs, and values, which may not always be easy to discover or accept. Moreover, the quote implies that these revelations might come when least expected, underscoring the idea that personal growth is an ongoing process rather than a definitive destination.


'Twilight' passed like a fever through the sophisticated reader and the unsophisticated reader alike. People devoured those books in single sittings, over weekends, with a kind of raw intensity that is rare.

- Holly Black

Through, Over, Weekends, Sophisticated

One of the great things about writing middle-grade books is that it's really a nice break, when you're writing super intense stuff like 'Coldtown', to be able to write something a little lighter - calm down and do something different.

- Holly Black

Down, Calm Down, About, Lighter

I revise a lot while I'm drafting, often going back to the beginning again and again to revise because I've changed massive things about the story. By the time I get to the end of a first draft, I've been through the beginning lots of times.

- Holly Black

Through, Been, By The Time, Drafting

I'm not a fast writer, and I find the process of writing a first draft to be painful and frustrating. Usually, I start with a character, a premise, and some image that gives me a particular feeling.

- Holly Black

Process, Some, Image, Premise

I wrote a book called 'Doll Bones', which was another middle-grade book, and when I was writing it, I needed a place in the U.S. that made bone china. And there are only two places in the U.S. that make bone china. They made it by grinding down actual cow bones. It was a plot point. It was a creepy doll book.

- Holly Black

Book, Needed, Another, Grinding

Into every generation comes a vampire.

- Holly Black

Generation, Every, Vampire

The problem with faerie gifts is that they always come with a price, which is why they are made by the desperate and the foolish.

- Holly Black

Always, Desperate, Which, Foolish

In the older folklore, faeries were frightening beings. In fact, it was such a bad idea to get their attention that people would use flattering euphemisms for them, such as 'the people of peace,' 'the little people,' and 'the good neighbors.'

- Holly Black

Fact, Bad, Idea, Little People

I loved Anne Rice's 'Interview with a Vampire' and 'The Vampire Lestat'. I found a copy of 'Interview' when I was in seventh grade at a garage sale for 25 cents. It had a crazy cover.

- Holly Black

Garage, Anne, Cents, Interview

Someday I would like to be the kind of writer who barrels through a draft, but I can't even seem to barrel through an interview like this, so I imagine I have a long way to go.

- Holly Black

Through, Imagine, Barrel, Interview

I read 'Sabella or The Blood Stone' by Tanith Lee, which was hugely influential to me. I love Tanith's writing. She's just really lyrical, beautiful use of language.

- Holly Black

Love, Which, Hugely, Stone

I really love being a weirdo who writes a lot of different things for a lot of different ages. I have been considering doing a guide on my website so that a reader who liked one of my books could find the other books that he or she might like, because I know some of the books are really different from the rest.

- Holly Black

Love, Some, Been, Writes

I am not very good at sticking to outlines, and I double back all the time to revisit scenes and change things.

- Holly Black

Double, Very, Outlines, Revisit

One of my favorite things in books is watching someone make the mistake. You know it's going to happen. You keep thinking: 'Don't do it!' But of course they're going to do it. It's riveting. You learn through them that it's okay. It's the ecstatic fall, where you watch someone make that terrible decision, and there's such pleasure in it.

- Holly Black

Thinking, Watching, Through, Favorite Things

I think there are a lot of really positive aspects to social media for novelists. Even though our work is pretty solitary, through Twitter and Tumblr and Facebook and Instagram and blogging in general, we're better able to connect directly with readers.

- Holly Black

Through, I Think, Novelists, Tumblr

Everything scares me. I'm very easily frightened. But the thing that scares me most is zombies. I really, really don't like zombies.

- Holly Black

Like, Very, Really, Frightened

Inspiration comes from everywhere. From life, observing people, etc. From movies and books you love. From research.

- Holly Black

Love, People, Inspiration, Observing

I think there's a reason that horror appeals to teens. There's a lot of useful lessons to take away from reading horror. We get to be scared in the comfort and safety of our own homes. We can put the book down if we get too scared, and no one will ever know if we decide not to pick it up again.

- Holly Black

Reason, Away, I Think, Scared

Faeries are associated with wild untamed nature, with art, and with death - so the folklore is rich with different stories to explore.

- Holly Black

Art, Death, Stories, Folklore

There's never really been a time when vampires weren't so over that you would be crazy to write a vampire book, or so huge that you would be crazy to write a vampire book. I'm not sure there's ever going to be a time. We went from Anne Rice to Buffy to 'Twilight.'

- Holly Black

Book, Been, Vampires, Vampire

I really love the idea of the poetically mad - the character that is imbued with the romantic madness. Like River from 'Firefly' or Drusilla from 'Buffy.' Someone dangerously unhinged, where you're really not sure they're going to be reliable minute-to-minute.

- Holly Black

Love, Idea, Dangerously, Buffy

When I was a kid in the U.S., 'Doctor Who' wasn't really on, but you would occasionally catch an episode. Different stations did marathons.

- Holly Black

Kid, Stations, Episode, Occasionally

When we talk about good books, we often talk about good sentences, but what we rarely talk about is reader pleasure. Yet it is reader pleasure that is going to make a book break out into the kind of success that makes it into a household name.

- Holly Black

Going, Break, Sentences, Household

What I've always loved about faeries is the way that they, unlike so many other supernatural creatures, are not human and have never been human. They have different customs and different taboos, and woe to anyone who breaks them.

- Holly Black

Always, Other, Been, Woe

Three hundred words in a day is not a lot. So much of it is thinking before writing. And then there's the cutting. But you do what you do and keep moving forward.

- Holly Black

Forward, Before, Hundred, Keep Moving Forward

'Doctor Who' rewrites your brain because at first when you watch it, you think, 'That doesn't make sense.'

- Holly Black

Think, Sense, Your, Doctor Who

I don't feel prolific. I feel like I'm plodding along. Each day you sit down, and you hope that you get your work done.

- Holly Black

Work, Like, Prolific, Each Day

Writers usually don't get to pick our own covers. I know it's surprising to hear that.

- Holly Black

Own, Writers, Surprising, Covers

Can you write 200 words a day? 100? 50? In six months, 50 words a day is 9,000 words. That's 2-3 short stories. If you did 200 words every day, in three months that's 36,000 words. That's half a short novel.

- Holly Black

Six, Stories, Months, Short Stories

I've loved vampires for a very long time. In eighth grade, I guess, my research paper was on vampires.

- Holly Black

Very, Very Long Time, Eighth

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