I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it’ll make sense.

Americans are far more remarkable than we give ourselves credit for. We've been so busy damning ourselves for years. We've done it all, and yet we don't take credit for it.

Is it true, the world works hard and we play? Is that why we're hated so much?

If you learn only methods, you'll be tied to your methods, but if you learn principles you can devise your own methods.

How long has it been since you wrote a story where your real love or your real hatred somehow got onto the paper? When was the last time you dared release a cherished prejudice so it slammed the page like a lightning bolt?

What can we writers learn from lizards, lift from birds? In quickness is truth. The faster you blurt, the more swiftly you write, the more honest you are. In hesitation is thought. In delay comes the effort for a style, instead of leaping upon truth which is the only style worth deadfalling or tiger-trapping.

Sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads.