Know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly

Were most of your stars out? Were you busy writing your heart out?

You're lucky if you get time to sneeze in this goddam phenomenal world.

Sensitive. That killed me. That guy Morrow was about as sensitive as a toilet seat.

You can't stop a teacher when they want to do something. They just do it.

Phooey, I say, on all white-shoe college boys who edit their campus literary magazines. Give me an honest con man any day.

If only you’d remember before ever you sit down to write that you’ve been a reader long before you were ever a writer. You simply fix that fact in your mind, then sit very still and ask yourself, as a reader, what piece of writing in all the world Buddy Glass would most want to read if he had his heart’s choice. The next step is terrible, but so simple I can hardly believe it as I write it. You just sit down shamelessly and write the thing yourself. I won’t even underline that. It’s too important to be underlined.