The writer wants to be understood much more than he wants to be respected or praised or even loved. And that, perhaps, is what makes him different from others.

Every writer is a narcissist. This does not mean that he is vain; it only means that he is hopelessly self-absorbed.

O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we always are, whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.

First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate people.

The purpose of life is to matter, to be productive, to have it make a difference that you lived at all-using the talents that God has given you for the betterment of others.

The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can't help it.

The purpose of life is not to be happy, the purpose of life is to matter.