“The more one loves, the heavier the meaning of death becomes, and the deeper the sense of loss.”

“Realize that by hurting your own characters, you are not a sadist. You are not deliberately hurting your loved ones merely to watch them suffer. You’re giving a gift. You’re helping them grow and develop. Your characters take on deeper meaning to become more alive on your pages. They’ll become real.”

“Hope for some means its loss for others; when the hopeless regain some hope, those in power--the ones who had taken it away--become afraid, more protective of their endangered interests, more repressive.”

“People love to see death. It reminds them that however mean, however low, however horrible their lives become… at least they have one.”

“There is a widespread sense of loss here, if not always of God, then at least of meaning.”

“One is seldom unchanged by the death of those one loves. It gives me a deeper knowledge of them, and so of oneself in regard to them.”