Toni Morrison seems to have a lot of faith in people - that's what I mean by gentle power.

I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar.

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded . . . sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.

Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.

Developing our sympathetic compassion is not only possible but the only reason for us to be here on earth.

According to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving. Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now.

It's a big world, and I really like it.

Character is that sum total of moments we can't explain.

The generalizing writer is like the passionate drunk, stumbling into your house mumbling: I know I'm not being clear, exactly, but don't you kind of feel what I'm feeling?

Kindness, it turns out, is hard - it starts out all rainbows and puppy dogs, and expands to include . . . well, EVERYTHING.

If you want to fill your life with abundance, never forget to give away something with love.

If their horoscopes are not compatible, this marriage is out of the question.

He walked, groping for a sentence that hung in his mind as an empty shape. He could neither fill it or dismiss it.

Politics have no relation to morals.

Water doesn't hurt a vinyl record. Put it into a dishwasher and you're fine.

She gritted her teeth. She was here with Sebastian, on her way to see a powerful warlock, and mentally she was maundering on about the way Jace smelled.

Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball

When you do a comedy, the goals are much clearer to me.

What loss is there in dignity, what worry is there of failure?