I was 29 when I wrote my first novel. But I was 45 when I quit for good. I was a 16-year overnight success.

No one should be judged by the worst moment of his life.

The rulings of the past do not always apply in the present.

Aggressiveness is good in a combat leader. Combining that with ambition and insecurity becomes more problematic.

Writing seems like the only job where what you think and feel really matters.

Problem was that we could make things worse but we couldn't make anything better.

The business of writing is empathising with situations that aren't your own.

The manuscript you submit [should not] contain any flaws that you can identify - it is up to the writer to do the work, rather than counting on some stranger in Manhattan to do it for him.

Morally repugnant and tactically stupid are a lousy combination.

The only judgment that truly matters is the final judgment.

he knew that men were too complex to be defined by the worst moment in their lives

God calls big trees out of small seeds, so He prepares great monuments out of small minds. He will definitely call those wonderful things he put in you out of you. When He begins, do not resist!

Who you are in Christ is far more important and meaningful than whatever has taken place in your past.

Family - see Fascist State.

Our trouble is not ignorance, but inaction.

I keep feeling like everyone wants me to apologize for something.

I'm reading a manuscript by Rodney Jones, "Village Prodigies",it's one of the best contemporary poetry books I've ever read ever.

Just the idea that you are religious doesn't help at all. It does not help you; it does not help others. In order to really help others, you need to gain knowledge-wisdom.

The world is a courtroom, but your life is the judge.

Our contempt for others proves nothing but the illiberality and narrowness of our own views.

People just love to be entertained, and in order to entertain them, you have to do things in a way that they understand.