Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.

Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.

All secrets become deep. All secrets become dark. That's in the nature of secrets.

Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader - not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.

When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.

Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.

Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor.

I am often asked the question How can the masses permit themselves to be exploited by the few. The answer is By being persuaded to identify with them.

The three most important documents a free society gives are a birth certificate, a passport, and a library card.

Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.

There is a certain type of greasy hair that you get only when you are writing with no breaks.

I never did quite fit the glamour mode. It is life with my husband and family that is my high now.

Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling.

We expect to see the day when temples will dot the earth, each one a house of the Lord.

Please will you do my job for me.

Take up your own daily cross; it is the burden best suited for your shoulder, and will prove most effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God.

Hell is more like boredom, or not having enough to do, and too much time to contemplate one's deficiencies.

"Happy" feels good... I just like when stuff feels good.

All men are selfish, brutal and inconsiderate--and I wish I could find one.