""Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless.""
— Paul Bowles

"Never laugh at live dragons"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming 'sub-creator' and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil."
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun."
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"OCTOBER...
NOVEMBER...
DECEMBER...
JANUARY...

Time passes. Even when it seems impossibe. Even when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly,in strange lurches and dragging lulls,but pass it does. Even for me."
— Stephenie Meyer (New Moon)

"Let me get this straight: You think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. And your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck. "
— Lucius Fox

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
— Dr. Seuss

""I have many leather-bound books, and my apartment smells of rich mahogany." "
— Ron Burgundy

"Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined."
— Toni Morrison

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
— Apple Computer Inc.

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring)

"Certainty of death, small chance of success... well, what're we waiting for?

(From The Lord of the Rings screenplay by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens; incorrectly attributed to JRR Tolkien)"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to...

- Frodo to Sam"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places.
But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now
mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings)

"God created dinosaurs. God destroyed dinosaurs. God created Man. Man destroyed God. Man creates dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs eat man...Woman inherits the earth" "
— Ian Malcolm - Jurassic Park

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring)

"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Two Towers)

"I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which 'Escape' is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring)

"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again)

"A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Children of Húrin)

"'You cannot pass,' he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. 'I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.'"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

""The only just literary critic," he concluded, "is Christ, who admires more than does any man the gifts He Himself has bestowed.""
— J.R.R. Tolkien

"Living by faith includes the call to something greater than cowardly self-preservation."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set)

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
— Albert Einstein

"Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
— Albert Einstein

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

Dead Poet's Society"
— John Keating

"(after a night in the bar)
Porthos: How’s your head D’Artagnan?
D’Artagnan: I'm beginning to wish the Cardinal had chopped it off… Would you stop whistling please?
Porthos: I'm not whistling.
D’Artagnan: Well, somebody’s whistling.
Porthos: The barmaids kiss left him dizzy.
"
— *The Three Musketeers

"[aramis i kissing a woman he has been tutoring in theology then finds out his student is married]
Aramis: We must pray for our sins.
[husband busts in and fires]
Aramis: On second thought, God's often busy. "
— *the three musketeers

"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Porthos: He thinks he can challenge the mighty Porthos with a sword...
D'Artagnan: The mighty who?
Porthos: Don't tell me you've never heard of me.
D'Artagnan: The world's biggest windbag?
Porthos: Little pimple... meet me behind the Luxembourg at 1 o'clock and bring a long wooden box.
D'Artagnan: Bring your own...
Porthos: [laughs]"
— *the three musketeers

"[the three musketeers and D'Artagnan are escaping from the Cardinal's men in his own coach]
Porthos: (stands through a hole in the roof) Champagne?
Athos: (driving) We're in the middle of a chase, Porthos.
Porthos: You're right - something red. (ducks back into the coach. comes back up after a minute)
Porthos: For a chase, the Cardinal recommends his excellent '24 Cabernet.
Porthos: [to D'Artagnan] You can't have any, you're too young.
Athos: Take the reins, boy.
"
— *the three muskateers

"Bad Guy: It's Porthos the Pirate! AAAAH!
[the bad guys jump overboard]
D'Artagnan: Pirate?
Porthos: I told you I was famous.
"
— *the three musketeers

"Is this a kissing book?"
— William Goldman (The Princess Bride)

"Have fun storming the castle!"
— William Goldman (The Princess Bride)

"Inigo Montoya: That Vizzini, he can *fuss*.
Fezzik: Fuss, fuss... I think he like to scream at *us*.
Inigo Montoya: Probably he means no *harm*.
Fezzik: He's really very short on *charm*.
Inigo Montoya: You have a great gift for rhyme.
Fezzik: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Vizzini: Enough of that.
Inigo Montoya: Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?
Fezzik: If there are, we all be dead.
Vizzini: No more rhyming now, I mean it.
Fezzik: Anybody want a peanut?
Vizzini: DYEEAAHHHHHH."
— William Goldman (The Princess Bride)

"Inigo: You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.

Westley: You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die. "
— William Goldman (The Princess Bride)

"I'm like a dog chasing cars. I don't what I'd do with one once I caught it"
— the Joker, the dark knight

"If you are good at something, never do it for free.-Heath Ledger as the Joker"
— The Dark Knight

"James Gordon Jr.: Why's he running, Dad?
Lt. James Gordon: Because we have to chase him.
James Gordon Jr.: He didn't do anything wrong.
Lt. James Gordon: Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight. "
— The Dark Knight

"Some people just want to watch the world burn."
— Alfred (The Dark Knight)

"The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you Gotham, that dawn is coming. "
— Harvey Dent, DA of Gotham City, the Dark Knight

"Twilight again, he murmured." Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end."
— Stephenie Meyer (Twilight)

"I found this on her website, and I liked what she said, cause I like to write, and her tips are very helpful. She begins here:
Beware: I can only give writing tips for my style of writing, because I don't know how to do anything else!

My focus is the characters--that's the part of the story that is most important to me. I feel the best way to write believable characters is to really believe in them yourself. When you hear a song on the radio, you should know how your character feels about it--which songs your character would relate to, which songs she hates. Hear the conversations that your characters would have when they're not doing anything exciting; let them talk in your head, get to know them. Know their favorite colors and their opinions on current events, their birthdays and their flaws. None of this goes in the book, it's just to help you get a rounded feel to them.

I think outlining--in a very non-structured, free-flowing form--can really help. I didn't have to do that with Twilight, but it was very necessary for the other two books. I changed my outlines often as the writing led me in other directions--the outline is just a tool, not something mandatory that you have to follow.

Some of the best advice on writing I got from Janet Evanovich's website. She said if you want to be a writer as a profession, then treat it like a job. Put in the hours. Set aside time for writing, and then make yourself sit down and do it. Sometimes it's easy--the words flow and you can get a lot done. Other times it's hard, and you might only get one sentence done in an hour. But that's better than nothing.

Here's a tip that really helped me with book two and three: forget writing in order. With New Moon and Eclipse, I wrote out whichever scenes I was interested in, rather than starting at the beginning and working through to the end. I wrote most of the books in scenes, and then went back later and tied the scenes together. It cut out a lot of writer's block to write whatever part I was most interested in at the time. And it makes it easy to finish. By the time you get around to writing the less exciting transitions, expositions, and descriptions, you already have so much done! You can see a full novel coming together, and that's very motivating. (But you really need an outline to work that way--to keep from getting lost!)"
— Stephenie Meyer

"If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way."
— Bertrand Russell

"Before you Bella my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars - points of light and reason. .... And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliance, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no reason for anything."
— Stephenie Meyer

"How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?"
— Stephenie Meyer (New Moon)

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
— C.S. Lewis

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."
— C.S. Lewis

"You can never be overdressed or overeducated."
— Oscar Wilde