When you're ready to stop, stop. If you have presented all the facts and made the point you want to make, look for the nearest exit.

Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon.

Don't try to guess what sort of thing editors want to publish or what you think the country is in a mood to read. Editors and readers don't know what they want to read until they read it. Besides, they're always looking for something new.

Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.

Few people realize how badly they write. Nobody has shown them how much excess or murkiness has crept into their style.

Never hesitate to imitate another writer. Imitation is part of the creative process for anyone learning an art or a craft. Bach and Picasso didn't spring full-blown as Bach or Picasso; they needed models. This is especially true of writing.

Dare to tell the smallest of stories if you want to generate large emotions.