Horror movies often work better when we have a stake in the game. The more we care about the characters, the more human they are to us, the more appealing they are to us and the more effective the horror tends to be.

And this wasn’t lying, not really. It was leaving out.

Writers must be fair and remember even bad guys (most of them, anyway) see themselves as good—they are the heroes of their own lives. Giving them a fair chance as characters can create some interesting shades of gray—and shades of gray are also a part of life.

It was the kiss by which all the others of his life would be judged and found wanting.

In many cases when a reader puts a story aside because it 'got boring,' the boredom arose because the writer grew enchanted with his powers of description and lost sight of his priority, which is to keep the ball rolling.

I do not kill with my gun; He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart.

The world had moved on and all that was over, done before fairly begun.