I blew the college boards, and to ease the snub from Harvard made a tour of Europe.
This was but a prelude; where books are burnt human-beings will be burnt in the end
In dark ages people are best guided by religion, as in a pitch-black night a blind man is the best guide; he knows the roads and paths better than a man who can see. When daylight comes, however, it is foolish to use blind, old men as guides.
Nothing is sillier than this charge of plagiarism. There is no sixth commandment in art. The poet dare help himself wherever he lists, wherever he finds material suited to his work. He may even appropriate entire columns with their carved capitals, if the temple he thus supports be a beautiful one. Goethe understood this very well, and so did Shakespeare before him.
There is only one writer in whom I find something that reminds me of the directness of style which is found in the Bible. It is Shakespeare.
The more i get to know people, the more i like dogs.
Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings.
Doing press is like eating at McDonald's: while it's going on it's vaguely enjoyable - you're seduced by your own vanity and taking yourself rather seriously - but immediately afterwards you feel sick.
Personally, one of the most helpful things I learned was three-act structure. For my first four or so novels, I built the structure intuitively.
People build continuity into their life: Places, friends and goals. We go to work on Monday with plans for Friday night, enroll as freshmen intending to be seniors and save money for retirement. We try to control what comes next and shape it to meet our will.
It means the world to me to represent the Hispanic community.