Literature is as old as speech. It grew out of a human need for it, and it has not changed except to become more needed
John SteinbeckWriting to me is a deeply personal, even a secret function and when the product I turned loose it is cut off from me and I have no sense of its being mine. Consequently criticism doesn't mean anything to me. As a disciplinary matter, it is too late.
John SteinbeckI wish to God I knew as much about writing as I did when I was 19. I was absolutely certain about most things then. Also, I suspect, more accurate.
John SteinbeckA funeral isn't for the dead. You'll simply be a stage set for a kind of festival maybe. And besides, you won't even be there.
John Steinbeck