There was no doubt now in Ender's mind. There was no help for him. Whatever he faced, now and forever, no one would save him from it. Peter might be scum, but Peter had been right, always right; the power to cause pain is the only power that matters, the power to kill and destroy, because if you can't kill then you are always subject to those who can, and nothing and no one will ever save you.
Orson Scott CardWriterโs block is my unconscious mind telling me that something Iโve just written is either unbelievable or unimportant to me, and I solve it by going back and reinventing some part of what Iโve already written so that when I write it again, it is believable and interesting to me. Then I can go on. Writerโs block is never solved by forcing oneself to โwrite through it,โ because you havenโt solved the problem that caused your unconscious mind to rebel against the story, so it still wonโt work โ for you or for the reader.
Orson Scott CardPeople love to hear the brag of the local boy, because they want him to be great, but the foreigner must deny that he has any outstanding virtue - this is what will endear him to the locals.
Orson Scott CardPersonal humiliation was painful. Humiliation of one's family was much worse. Humiliation of one's social status was agony to bear. But humiliation of one's nation was the most excruciating of human miseries.
Orson Scott Card