Must you write complete sentences each time, every time? Perish the thought. If your work consists only of fragments and floating clauses, the Grammar Police aren't going to come and take you away. Even William Strunk, that Mussolini of rhetoric, recognized the delicious pliability of language. "It is an old observation," he writes, "that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric." Yet he goes on to add this thought, which I urge you to consider: "Unless he is certain of doing well, [the writer] will probably do best to follow the rules."

Death is a mystery, and burial is a secret.

The idea for a novel is like a little tiny fire in a dark night. And, one by one, the characters come and stand around it and warm their hands.

Relief loosens tongues beyond measure.

True sorrow is as rare as true love.

Speaking personally, you can have my gun, but you'll take my book when you pry my cold, dead fingers off of the binding.

I felt lonely and content at the same time. I believe that is a rare kind of happiness.