Every major work of art is a transgression, but the artist is not necessarily, by nature, a transgressor.

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.

Of course it's heavier, he thought. It's got my grief in it. I pull it along with me everywhere I go, so I do.

The one who is doing his work and getting satisfaction from it is not the one the poverty is hard on.

I keep my books at the British Museum and at Mudies.

Don't call me famous, but it's hard to be out with my friends now.

Most entertainment is trying to get you. It's tested, like toothpaste.

I finally discovered something - it's all about Jesus.

We are two different people, Ethan. Just because you could never decide which one of us you were in love with does not make us interchangeable.

You don't have to be super clean to be a super star

You cannot approach people who think differently with reason and logic if they don't know what that means. First, you have to appeal to their values to start with. If you attack them, you lose them.

Our ultimate dharma is self-realization. Thoughts and actions that support our spiritual evolution are real dharma.