There's something ugly about the flawless.

Narrative becomes the way you make sense of chaos. That's how you focus the world. It's the only reason you should ever try this writing job.

In Greek tragedy, they fall from great heights. In noir, they fall from the curb.

Happiness comes in moments, & then it's gone until the next time. Could be years. But sadness settles it.

It's hard to close the door on optimistic expectations when you love someone.

There are so many more important things to worry about than how you're perceived by strangers.

The foundation of your life is luck. Hard work and talent make up the difference.

There are threads in our lives. You pull one, and everything else gets affected.

Chuck said, “Hey. How many surrealists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” Cawley looked over at him. “I’ll bite. How many?” “Fish,” Chuck said and let loose a bright bark of a laugh.

What molds us is what maims us.

The best thing that can happen to people entering creative professions is the dwindling of all other possibilities.

Writing is simply another means for truth to escape, besides crawling out the hole it’s eaten in the author’s belly.

I'll always be poor in my mind.

Mythologies become exhausting burdens, from a writer's perspective.

Many women tend toward the interdependent end of things, we tend to see ourselves in relationship to others to a far greater degree than men.

I grew up in a society where everything you did was eavesdropped on, recorded, snitched on. I had friends when we were kids getting into trouble for telling anecdotes about Communist leaders.

I learned to focus and work hard and not give up. I learned that every obstacle is really an opportunity.

The room is the beginning of architecture.

Tomorrow, you're always a day away.

I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on.

First we will be best, then we will be first