Write in such a way as that you can be readily understood by both the young and the old, by men as well as women, even by children.

Most rock journalism is people who can’t write, interviewing people who can’t talk, for people who can’t read.

The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood – rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky – they all turn out in one day.

A saint is tolerant and is attentive to the pleadings of other human beings, not only to spoken messages but to unspoken messages as well.

It’s with bad sentiments that one makes good novels.

The way I talk is bizarre.

Some things get written more quickly than others, but I can’t really measure degrees of difficulty.

We’ve fallen into a trap of ever-widening orbits of contact, and there is a total disregard for the present moment.

Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.

The royal road to a man’s heart is to talk to him about the things he treasures most.

The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.

We believe that every single child has boundless promise, no matter who they are, where they come from, or how much money their parents have. We’ve got to remember that. We believe that each of these young people is a vital part of the great American story.

When I talked to him on the phone yesterday. I called him George rather than Mr. Vice President. But, in public, it’s Mr. Vice President, because that is who he is.

We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the Old World some weeks nearer to the New, but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad, flapping American ear will be that the Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough.

My wife and I don’t compete. We know each other’s preferences, and we work to provide those for each other. One will take over when the other is faced with something he or she dislikes. That’s what friends do.

A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.

I make friends faster and easier than journalists.

Words are more powerful than some noises. Noises won’t last long. Lyrics are so important, and people don’t realise that.

I think the reason my stories have been so successful is that I have a strong sense of metaphor.

Tell them to send everything that can fly.

No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.

When we value correct principles, we have truth – a knowledge of things as they are.

All meanings, we know, depend on the key of interpretation.

And you find as a writer there are certain spots on the planet where you write better than others, and I believe in that. And New Orleans is one of them.

Mind your speech a little lest you should mar your fortunes.

As a country, we can’t teach kids how to read and write when we got 18 years to do it. And that’s – that’s a disgrace.

Prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God.

I put a piece of paper under my pillow, and when I could not sleep I wrote in the dark.

She had lost the art of conversation but not, unfortunately, the power of speech.

Brevity is a great charm of eloquence.

Writing makes you feel that there is a reason to go on living. If I couldn’t write, I would stop breathing.

The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.

Speeches that are measured by the hour will die with the hour.

People use irony as a defense mechanism.

When we believe the best of people, we let go of each thing they do that is hurtful to us. And we choose to think things like, ‚I don’t believe they meant to hurt me.‘ ‚Maybe they’re having a bad day or don’t feel well.‘ ‚They probably don’t even realize how they sound.‘

The problem with having a sense of humor is often that people you use it on aren’t in a very good mood.

When I write, I try to become different characters.

There are a lot of groups that feel a little bit strange around me, because I am inclusive.

You never make fun of anybody with a club foot or a withered arm, but it’s open season on anybody who stutters.

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.

Letters are something from you. It’s a different kind of intention than writing an e-mail.

You fail only if you stop writing.

My first phone was two tin cans tied together with string, and it worked pretty good.

What is the use of writing plays, what is the use of writing anything, if there is not a will which finally moulds chaos itself into a race of gods.

If I am judged for my work, many myths about me as an autocrat or otherwise would become clearer. I feel false propaganda will not last, and truth will ultimately prevail.

Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.

Naturally, my stories are about women – I’m a woman. I don’t know what the term is for men who write mostly about men. I’m not always sure what is meant by ‚feminist.‘ In the beginning, I used to say, ‚Well, of course I’m a feminist.‘ But if it means that I follow a kind of feminist theory, or know anything about it, then I’m not.

I had my jazz club and I had enough money. So I didn’t have to write for my living.

And one more thing.

There is a huge need and a huge opportunity to get everyone in the world connected, to give everyone a voice and to help transform society for the future. The scale of the technology and infrastructure that must be built is unprecedented, and we believe this is the most important problem we can focus on.

The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader.

I do not, in fact, use many puns. Certainly there are far fewer than people believe. But I suspect the ones I do occasionally use tend to hang around in people’s memories for a while.

The first test of a truly great man is his humility. By humility I don’t mean doubt of his powers or hesitation in speaking his opinion, but merely an understanding of the relationship of what he can say and what he can do.

I am the freest author in the world.

Many people find the universe confusing – it’s not.

A yawn is a silent shout.

If you’re a politician, you might want to learn the Buddhist way of negotiation. Restoring communication and bringing back reconciliation is clear and concrete in Buddhism.

Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.

I’ve written some great things. That’s a gift, but there’s consequences. Yeah, you get this great work, but you suffer. You really, really suffer.

What air is to the body, to feel understood is to the heart.

What I believe is that marriage is between a man and a woman, but what I also believe is that we have an obligation to make sure that gays and lesbians have the rights of citizenship that afford them visitations to hospitals, that allow them to be, to transfer property between partners, to make certain that they’re not discriminated on the job.