The truth is you don't like the theater except the times when you're in a room by yourself putting the play on paper.

The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.

Nora said: 'I love you, Nicky, because you smell nice and know such fascinating people.

A lot of fancier yarns come from people trying to tell the truth. It’s not easy once you’re out of the habit.

When you write, you want fame, fortune and personal satisfaction. You want to write what you want to write and feel it's good, and you want this to go on for hundreds of years. You're not likely ever to get all these things, and you're not likely to give up writing and commit suicide if you don't, but that is -- and should be -- your goal. Anything else is kind of piddling.

Who shot him? I asked. The grey man scratched the back of his neck and said: Somebody with a gun.

He felt like somebody had taken the lid off life and let him see the works.