I feel like I'm not smart enough to answer the questions I'm asked.

We buy balloons, we let them go.

I have to return some videotapes

The better you look, the more you see.

Writing a novel is not method acting and I find it easy to step out of it at cocktail hour.

No one ever likes the right person.

Is evil something you are? Or is it something you do?

Why was I holding on to something that would never be mine? But isn't that what people do?

But this was what happened when you didn't want to visit and confront the past: the past starts visiting and confronting you.

I like the idea of a writer being haunted by his own creation, especially if the writer resents the way the character defines him.

And as the elevator descents, passing the second floor, and the first floor, going even father down, I realize that the money doesn't matter. That all that does is that I want to see the worst

It’s taken years, but part of my own personal growth has involved deciding that I can learn something from even the most annoying person.

Pessimism never won any battle.

When you have mountains in the distance or even hills, you have space.

Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight indecision a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it.

Manners is the key thing. Say, for instance, when you're growing up, you're walking down the street, you've got to tell everybody good morning. Everybody. You can't pass one person.

The only ones who will find real happiness are those who find a way to serve

If I went to someone for therapy, I wouldn't be a writer...I would just be well adjusted.

Losing is only temporary and not encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it.

Do not waste time idling or thinking after you have set your goals

It's relatively easy to generate a lot of enthusiasm for Puget Sound in the short term. Sustaining the effort to clean it up is somewhat tougher.