I'm incredibly competitive in all sports in a way that is so mystifying to my wife because she grew up playing the violin and piano. I've always been like that.

Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire.

The ideal is to feel at home anywhere, everywhere.

One's happiness is very largely a question of state of mind rather than the world you are looking at.

Nine times out of 10, the most charming thing to say in any given situation will be the exact opposite of what one really feels.

To be interested in something is to be involved in what is essentially a stressful relationship with that thing, to suffer anxiety on its behalf.

All the best essays are epistemological journeys from ignorance or curiosity to knowledge.

Life is bearable even when it's unbearable: that is what's so terrible, that is the unbearable thing about it.

Quite often, ambition operates on a level of irritation. Not even jealousy, just irritation.

When you are lonely, writing can keep you company. It is also a form of self-compensation, a way of making up for things—as opposed to making things up—that did not quite happen.

If you help them (the crew) create good memories, they'll forget all the bad stuff

If I had sat around and waited until I had an idea to be a successful photographer, I would still be in finance.

There is no compromise when it comes to corruption. You have to fight it.

I throw fresh seeds out. Who knows what survives?

Some people have youth, some have beauty – I have menace.

When you live by the sea, there are definite seasons when you can see the weather coming and going, which lends itself to photography.

Even with a small video we will always be able to do a small movie with friends and to show it to someone. You won't get the Oscar for it. But, after all, why are you writing and why are you filming?

I bad a piano long before I bad a guitar, and the practice I got just playing those three chords in a basic 12-bar blues song was very important.

I am not a greedy person except about flowers and plants, and then I become fanatically greedy.

The way he was playing, he probably could have scored on Jesus.

Calm and silent and steady work, and no newspaper humbug, no name-making, you must always remember.