“At that moment, the urge to be writing was stronger than any notion she had of what she might write.”

“Francie was ten years old when she first found an outlet in writing. What she wrote was of little consequence. What was important was that the attempt to write stories kept her straight on the dividing line between truth and fiction. If she had not found this outlet in writing, she might have grown up to be a tremendous liar.”

“I almost always urge people to write in the first person. Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.”

“In her writings, she despises her fellow man and woman for representing what she had lost.”

“For anyone who wants to write, and hopes some day to publish what he or she has written, it is far more important to write than it is to study about writing.”

“What had happened was this. When still young, I had gotten the idea from somewhere that I might be able to write... Maybe the deadly notion came from liking to read so much. Maybe I was in love with the image of being a writer. Whatever. It had been a really bad idea. Because I couldn't write, at least not by the bluntly and frequently expressed standards of anyone in a position to offer any encouragement and feedback.”