... don't ever underestimate people, don't ever underestimate the pleasure they receive from viewing pain that is not their own... Pain by itself is just Pain. But Pain + Distance can = entertainment, voyeurism, human interest, cinรฉma vรฉritรฉ, a good belly chuckle, a sympathetic smile, a raised eyebrow, disguised contempt.
Zadie SmithProtect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
Zadie SmithTo a novelist, fluidity is the ultimate good omen; suddenly difficult problems are simply solved, intractable structural knots loosen themselves, and you come upon the key without even recognizing that this is what you hold.
Zadie SmithPeople don't settle for people. They resolve to be with them. It takes faith. You draw a circle in the sand and agree to stand in it and believe in it.
Zadie Smith