Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people - people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.

Shocking writing is like murder: the questions the jury must decide are the questions of motive and intent.

Anybody who shifts gears when he writes for children is likely to wind up stripping his gears. But I don’t want to evade your question. There is a difference between writing for children and for adults. I am lucky, though, as I seldom seem to have my audience in mind when I am at work. It is as though they didn’t exist.

Anyone who writes down ( Read more... )

Writing is both mask and unveiling.

English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment, and education - sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street.

Be obscure clearly.

Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.