Writing is not an exercise in excision, it's a journey into sound.

Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.

... with men it's rush, rush, rush, every minute. I'm glad I'm a sedentary spider." "What does sedentary mean?" asked Wilbur. "Means I sit still a good part of the time and don't go wandering all over creation. I know a good thing when I see it, and my web is a good thing. I stay put and wait for what comes. Gives me a chance to think.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.

The only sense that is common in the long run, is the sense of change and we all instinctively avoid it.

My prose style at this time was a stomach-twisting blend of the Bible, Carl Sandburg, H.L. Mencken, Jeffrey Farnol, Christopher Morley, Samuel Pepys, and Franklin Pierce Adams imitating Samuel Pepys. I was quite apt to throw in a "bless the mark" at any spot, and to begin a sentence with "Lord" comma.

The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.