There are silences harder to take back than words.

Only half of writing is saying what you mean. The other half is preventing people from reading what they expected you to mean.

Nothing important comes with instructions.

What is more yours than what always holds you back?

The best way to know your faults is to notice which ones you accuse others of.

Writing is like washing windows in the sun. With every attempt to perfect clarity, you make a new smear.

When I am trying to write I turn on music so I can hear what is keeping me from hearing.

Sophistication is upscale conformity.

The happy and the suffering probably understand life equally well, but the sufferers may see a little more clearly how little it is that they understand.

It is the empty seats that listen most raptly.

All work is the avoidance of harder work.

And the last thought he had that morning as he closed his eyes was: I hope the tornado hit the moose.

If you have the power to put a smile on one person’s face, you have the power to change the world.

If it's total freedom, I guess the ultimate thing you can go into is total silence between the audience and performer, with the performer projecting something he doesn't even have to play.

It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all.

It's easy to get lost in the baby. You have to make sure you give your husband attention.

If I don't need the money, I don't work.

I think a great song appeals to older and younger people and it makes you think. It's also honest, and it also doesn't hurt if it's fun to sing along to.

No one else, ever, will think you're great the way your mother does.

Too much reasoning has spoiled the contemporary mind. People have lost their hearts and faith.

I was a prosecutor for many years, I'm a crime victim myself, and I've tried so many cases I don't even know how many anymore.