I was eleven, then I was sixteen. Though no honors came my way, those were the lovely years.
Writing stopped being fun when I discovered the difference between good writing and bad and, even more terrifying, the difference between it and true art. And after that, the whip came down.
To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make.
It is the want to know the end that makes us believe in God, or witchcraft, believe, at least, in something.
The quietness of his tone italicized the malice of his reply.
No one will ever know what 'In Cold Blood' took out of me. It scraped me right down to the marrow of my bones. It nearly killed me. I think, in a way, it did kill me.
A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.
Well, I'm about as tall as a shotgun, and just as noisy.
Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.
Fame is only good for one thing - they will cash your check in a small town.
When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended for self-flagellation solely.
My major regret in life is that my childhood was unnecessarily lonely.
