From the earliest time the old have rubbed it into the young that they are wiser, and before the young had discovered what nonsense this was they were old too, and it profited them to carry on the imposture.

Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.

In the country the darkness of night is friendly and familiar, but in a city, with its blaze of lights, it is unnatural, hostile and menacing. It is like a monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time.

I travel because I like to move from place to place, I enjoy the sense of freedom it gives me, it pleases me to be rid of ties, responsibilities, duties, I like the unknown; I meet odd people who amuse me for a moment and sometimes suggest a theme for a composition; I am often tired of myself and I have a notion that by travel I can add to my personality and so change myself a little. I do not bring back from the journey quite the same self that I took

All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary-it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences.

I never met an author who admitted that people did not buy his book because it was dull.

You cannot write well or much (and I venture the opinion that you cannot write well unless you write much) unless you form a habit.