We must imagine our lives well. We must engage our conscience. Conscience is the voice of God in the nature and heart of man.

No one is going to hear what she says whether she speaks or not. Simply she could close her eyes and never speak again. She could suck all of the air in this room-every dust mote, every atom-into her body and hide it inside her.

Writing is really just a matter of writing a lot, writing consistently and having faith that you'll continue to get better and better. Sometimes, people think that if they don't display great talent and have some success right away, they won't succeed. But writing is about struggling through and learning and finding out what it is about writing itself that you really love.

your life can change in an instant. that instant can last forever.

Heartbreak could be lived with if it weren't accompanied by regret.

We must imagine our lives well. We must engage our conscience. Conscience is the voice of God in the nature and heart of man.

The pursuit of exotic beauty in such a life would have been like having a ball of tinfoil in your stomach, all that airy metal filling you up with hunger.