You should write first drafts as if they will never be shown to anyone.

You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.

The stones themselves are thick with history, and those cats that dash through the alleyways must surely be the ghosts of the famous dead in feline disguise.

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.

Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own.

Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.

How wonderful to have someone to blame! How wonderful to live with one's nemesis! You may be miserable, but you feel forever in the right.

My generation was not only maligned in book reviews and attacked in graduate school but we lived to see our adored and adorable daughters wonder why feminism had become a dirty word.

I've been ignored by prettier women than you, but none who carried the heavy pitchers of silenceso far, without spilling a drop.

I clearly saw the skeleton underneathall this show of personalitywhat is left of a manand all his pride but bones?

You are positive, creative and happy to the degree to which you eliminate negative emotions from your life.

Tis immortality to die aspiring.

It is in the hard, hard rockpile labor of seeking to win, hold, or deserve a reader's interest that the pleasant agony of writing again comes in.

I think I feel vulnerable most of the time. I feel on guard. I've gotten pretty good at putting my fists down and kind of allowing the world to be, so that I don't feel threatened as much.

Art is like therapy; what comes up is what comes up. It may be dark, but that's what comes up. You may want to keep some of it in a drawer but never judge it.

How flattering,” I grumbled. “My soul glows.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

We all say no to war, we are all for justice and peace. But sometimes in order to maintain peace, armed action is necessary. But we hope it won't be the case.