The human heart is a dark forest.

Time, which is your enemy in almost everything in this life, is your friend in writing.

We are made to persist. that's how we find out who we are.

Fearlessness in those without power is maddening to those who have it.

One of the things that draws writers to writing is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life by writing about them.

The beauty of a fragment is that it still supports the hope of brilliant completeness.

A piece of writing is a dangerous thing," he said. "It can change your life.

Real maturity is the ability to imagine the humanity of every person as fully as you believe in your own humanity.

Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.

Everything has to be pulling weight in a short story for it to be really of the first order.

Most of us dont live lives that lend themselves to novelistic expression, because our lives are so fragmented.

We are hell different but vanity keeps us stuck.

I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn't need any advice from me. With God in charge I believe everything will work out for the best in the end.

If you looked for things to make you feel hurt and wretched and unnecessary, you were certain to find them.

Gilderoy Lockhart is also a lot like someone I once knew, but I don't think I'd better elaborate!

I was in sit-ins to desegregate restaurants and movie houses in the '60s.

If your thinking is limited, your life will be limited.

Complaint is the largest tribute heaven receives and the sincerest part of our devotion.

Psycholog­y is in its infancy, as a science. I hope in the interests of Art, it will always remain so.

You need to learn to live with your mistakes. And you need to be in a position to say No once in a while. It's important in life, and it's important for any career that you want to pursue.

It is a part of the nature of man to resist compulsion.