Children hold spring so tightly in their brown fists-just as grownups, who are less sure of it, hold it in their hearts.

There is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly, no key that unlocks the door, no inflexible rules by which the young writer may steer his course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.

It sometimes takes days, even weeks, before a dog's nerves tire. In the case of terriers it can run into months.

I believe... that security declines as security machinery expands.

The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but the speed of man's adjustment to it, the speed of his acceptance.

In the nature of things, a person engaged in the flimsy business of expressing himself on paper is dependent on the large general privilege of being heard. Any intimation that this privilege may be revoked throws a writer into panic.

When you consider that there are a thousand ways to express even the simplest idea, it is no wonder writers are under a great strain. Writers care greatly how a thing is said - it makes all the difference. So they are constantly faced with too many choices and must make too many decisions.