I didn't expect the book to sell in the first place. I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of reviewers but at the same time I sort of hoped that maybe someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I'd expected.
Harper LeeThat boy is your company. And if he wants to eat up that tablecloth, you let him, you hear?
Harper LeeLadies in bunches always filled me with vague apprehension and a firm desire to be elsewhere.
Harper LeeThe things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets -
Harper LeeWe're paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It's that simple.
Harper LeeCharacters make their own plot. The dimensions of the characters determine the action of the novel.
Harper LeePeople who write for reward by way of recognition or monetary gain don't know what they're doing. They're in the category of those who write; they are not writers. Writing is simply something you must do. It's rather like virtue in that it is its own reward. Writing is selfish and contradictory in its terms. First of all, you're writing for an audience of one, you must please the one person you're writing for. Yourself.
Harper Lee