Desperation is like a spilled drink; even if it's delicious, no one will get near it. Cultivate an aura of glamorous unapproachability.

If you know somebody very well, like your grandmother or your baby sister, you will know when they are real and when they are fake.

Do the scary thing first, and get scared later.

Occasionally there are parents who say, "I brought my child so he or she could learn what the career of a writer is like, and you did this long theatrical performance instead, and I'm very disappointed."

I’m reminded of a book my father used to read me,” she said. “A bunch of elves and things get into a huge war over a piece of jewelry that everybody wants but nobody can wear.

Bad circumstances have a way of ruining things that would otherwise be pleasant.

Never look a gift lion in the mouth.