Of the total creative effort represented in a finished work, 75 percent or more of a writer's labor goes into designing the story designing story tests the maturity and insight of the writer, his knowledge of society, nature, and the human heart. Story demands both vivid imagination and powerful analytic thought.

No civilization, including Plato's, has ever been destroyed because its citizens learned too much.

No matter our talent, we all know in the midnight of our souls that 90 percent of what we do is less than our best.

The material of literary talent is words; the material of story talent is life itself.

We often put off doing something for as long as possible, then as we finally make the decision and step into the action, we're surprised by its relative ease. We're left to wonder why we dreaded it until we realize that most of life's actions are within our reach, but decisions take willpower.

To connect to people at the deepest level, you need stories.

Of all the reasons for wanting to write, the only one that nurtures us through time is love of the work itself.