Once upon a time there was a young lady who lived in a marsh, and her name was Poison.

But time has a way of stealthily deciding a person’s mind without her conscious knowledge, and as she studied and procrastinated, Poison found one day that she had come to know her choice.

One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time to time in the closest intimacy.

As writers, we should remind ourselves, and each other, that Jane Austen and JK Rowling got rejected by publishers, too.

Poetry is the art of substantiating shadows, and of lending existence to nothing.

Perhaps, she says (Madame de la Rougierre), Other souls than human are sometimes born into the world & clothed in human flesh.

Just because you win the French Open it doesn't mean you can do well at Wimbledon .

Sit down every day and DO IT. Writing is a self-taught craft; the more you work at it, the more skilled you become. And when you're not writing, READ.

If children gave up when they fell for the first time, they would never learn to walk.

In some countries the common people are not permitted to read the Bible at all. In ours, it is as common as a newspaper and in schools is read with nearly the same degree of respect.

As we become civilized we are governed less by persons and more by principles. . . . The best of all leaders is the man who teaches people to lead themselves.

It is better for your career to do nothing, than to do something and attract criticism.