“Any writer who puts his words and thoughts out into the public is going to be criticized.”

“He (The warden) was painfully afraid of a disagreement with any person in any subject....he felt horror at the thought of being made the subject of common gossip and public criticism.”

“Whatever the word "great" means, Dickens was what it means. Even the fastidious and unhappy who cannot read his books without a continuous critical exasperation, would use the word of him without stopping to think. They feel that Dickens is a great writer even if he is not a good writer.”

“The public has no idea that writing is a disease, and that the writer who publishes is like a beggar who exhibits his sores.”

“He made writing look easy and critics hate that. They like evidence of a struggle, of creative agony, wringing the masterpiece out of one’s guts. After all, most critics think of themselves as writers, or had attempted to become writers. This leads to the bizarre situation in which failed writers pass judgment on writers who actually write for a living.”

“He who would be a writer, fine, Must take a deal of pains, Must criticize his every line, And mix his ink with brains.”