A new reader shouldn't be able to find you in your work, though someone who's read more may begin to.

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.

I know how men in exile feed on dreams of hope.

The ego says, I shouldn't have to suffer, and that thought makes you suffer so much more.

The higher the classification of secrecy, the quicker you will report it.

Politicians fascinate because they constitute such a paradox; they are an elite that accomplishes mediocrity for the public good.

The real Michael Jackson that has not been seen... with children, one in diapers, the other two toddlers

If by gaining knowledge we destroy our health, we labour for a thing that will be useless in our hands.

In order for America to remain a global leader in innovation and opportunity, we must give our children a solid foundation in math and science.

Something magical has happened to me: like a dream when one feels frightened and creepy, and suddenly wakes up to the knowledge that no such terrors exist. I have wakened up.

I love the beginning of Magnolia, the thing about the dealer. That scene is genius. Brilliantly acted.

Every time you finish a book, you have a terrible feeling that there's just never going to be another one. But fortunately, so far, the next one has always shown up.