Complacency is a state of mind that exists only in retrospective: it has to be shattered before being ascertained.

I do not begin my novel at the beginning, I do not reach chapter three before I reach chapter four, I do not go dutifully from one page to the next, in consecutive order; no, I pick out a bit here and a bit there, till I have filled all the gaps on paper. This is why I like writing my stories and novels on index cards, numbering them later when the whole set is complete. Every card is rewritten many times.

The more gifted and talkative one's characters are, the greater the chances of their resembling the author in tone or tint of mind.

Which arrow flies for ever? The arrow that has hit its mark.

My mind speaks English, my heart speaks Russian, and my ear prefers French.

I adore you, mon petit, and would never allow him to hurt you, no matter how gently or madly.

Burn pedants in pale fire. Accept no fashions. Be your own fashion. Do not rely on earlier triumphs. Be new at each appearance.