“Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.”

“A schoolchild should be taught grammar--for the same reason that a medical student should study anatomy. Having learned about the exciting mysteries of an English sentence, the child can then go forth and speak and write any damn way he pleases.”

“Sometimes a writer, like an acrobat, must try a trick that is too much for him.”

“Don't write about Man; write about a man.”

“An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write.”

“Writing is both mask and unveiling.”

“Advice to young writers wo want to get ahead without any annoying delays: don't write about Man, write about a man.”