Mel > Mel's Quotes

“Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.”
― Dean Koontz, False Memory

“I suspect the most we can hope for, and it's no small hope, is that we never give up, that we never stop giving ourselves permission to try to love and receive love.”
― Elizabeth Strout, Abide with Me

“The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back.”
― Abigail Van Buren

“Why can't people just sit and read books and be nice to each other?”
― David Baldacci, The Camel Club

“Writing what you wished was the most dangerous form of wishful thinking.”
― Amy Tan, The Bonesetter's Daughter

“Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it."

[Thoughts from Places: The Tour, Nerdfighteria Wiki, January 17, 2012]”
― John Green

“The best stories don't come from "good vs. bad" but "good vs. good.”
― Leo Tolstoy

“Put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it."

(Casual Chance, 1964)”
― Colette

“Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing

1. Never open a book with weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely.
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

My most important rule is one that sums up the 10.

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”
― Elmore Leonard

“IF you wish to be a writer then don't wait until you write the "great American novel" for they aren't written they are created. If you don't write at all you won't know how "great" that simple book can be.”
― Shiree Mccarver

“You never realize how much of your background is sewn into the lining of your clothes.”
― Tom Wolfe

“Live your life the way you want. You'll figure it out.”
― John Grisham

“You want to know about anybody? See what books they read, and how they've been read...”
― Keri Hulme, The Bone People

“The future is now. It's time to grow up and be strong. Tomorrow may well be too late.”
― Neil LaBute, Reasons to Be Pretty

“The left-handed are precious; they take places which are inconvenient for the rest.”
― Victor Hugo

“to be hated cordially is only a left-handed compliment”
― Herman Melville

“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

“You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Don't compromise yourself - you're all you have.”
― John Grisham, The Rainmaker

“Critics should find meaningful work.”
― John Grisham

“I don't feel stupid, just inadequate. After three years of studying the law, I'm very much aware of how little I know.”
― John Grisham, The Rainmaker

“Life is short..Live to the fullest..”
― John Grisham, The Runaway Jury

“Please give me fifty more years of work and fun, then an instant death when I'm sleeping.”
― John Grisham, The Rainmaker

“How could homosexuals possibly srew up the sanctity of marriage any worse than heterosexuals?”
― John Grisham, The Appeal

“I am currently reading, "The Broker" by John Grisham. it is alittle slow to start so I will have to let you know if it gets better”
― John Grisham

“I don't start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline and after a number of books I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on the outline I get in trouble with the book.”
― John Grisham

“Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't "try" to do things. You simply "must" do things.”
― Ray Bradbury