(T)hey were at ease with each other, which was essential to a productive workshop.

Nothing was truly unbearable if you had something to read.

Just start the sentence...and see what happens. This is how we write.

Arithmetic is the death of story.

...(W)here there's drama, there's crap.

(N)ot writing was hard work, almost as hard as writing.

All plots are cliche.

Carla was wearing a No Fear sweatshirt. You are too old, Amy wanted to tell her, for legible clothing.

Love will find its way through all languages on its own.

Knowledge is the most democratic source of power.

I used to believe my art had to be about the things that brought me joy and gave me hope. But I learned that art can be found in all of life, even in pain.

There's a song", I say. "There's always a song", he says.

He described how, as a boy of 14, his dad had been down the mining pit, his uncle had been down the pit, his brother had been down the pit, and of course he would go down the pit.

Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray.

The craving for power is in itself a sign of inferior abilities and unfitness for responsibility.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned. But I remember the beauty and thrill of being moved by Broadway musicals - particularly the endings of shows.

I would have to say my favorite place on Earth is Bora Bora.

That's what teaching is, the art of explanation: presenting the right information in the right order in a memorable way.