“I'd rather be caught holding up a bank than stealing so much as a two-word phrase from another writer.”

“It is easier to rob by setting up a bank than by holding up a bank clerk.”

“I think of myself as a bad writer with big ideas, but I'd rather be that than a big writer with bad ideas.”

“I'd like to have money. And I'd like to be a good writer. These two can come together, and I hope they will, but if that's too adorable, I'd rather have money.”

“But I'd rather help than watch. I'd rather have a heart than a mind. I'd rather expose too much than too little. I'd rather say hello to strangers than be afraid of them. I would rather know all this about myself than have more money than I need. I'd rather have something to love than a way to impress you.”

“The assumption that rigidly rejecting words and phrases that have existed for centuries will have much impact on public attitudes is rather dubious.”