“The writer writes in order to teach himself, to understand himself, to satisfy himself; the publishing of his ideas, though it brings gratification, is a curious anticlimax.”

“The good writer seems to be writing about himself, but has his eye always on that thread of the Universe which runs through himself and all things.”

“A writer must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid. ”

“[A writer] must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed - love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice.”

“Do not be satisfied with God's calling or His gifts in your life. Be satisfied with Jesus Christ Himself.”

“Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of his divine discontent.”