Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard is an American author known for her nonfiction, including Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, and The Writing Life.
4 quotes in this collection. Read them below, share your favourites, or follow the related links to explore similar voices.
All quotes by Annie Dillard
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“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
Meaning: Dillard makes the point in The Writing Life that a life is not a grand plan but the sum of ordinary days. Audit one typical day this week, note where the hours actually went, and move one of them toward something you value. -
“Each day is the same, so you remember the series afterward as a blurred and powerful pattern.”
Meaning: Dillard describes how repeated days merge in memory into one impression of a life. It cuts both ways: routines build mastery, but sameness can blur. Add one small, deliberate novelty each week so your days stay distinct and memorable. -
“What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”
Meaning: Dillard, writing about the routines of a writer, reminds us that the present hour is the only place life is actually lived. Try it by picking the next hour, choosing one task for it, and giving it your full attention without checking your phone. -
“A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days.”
Meaning: In The Writing Life, Dillard defends routine as protection against drift, since without structure days slip past unnoticed. Build a light net of your own: set fixed times for your two most important activities and guard them like appointments.