The file clanked against me, my stupid idea nobody would have gotten had I ever done it. You even wouldn't have gotten it, Ed, I thought, watching her go. It's why we broke up, so here it is. Ed, how could you?
Truth is always duller than fiction.
Writing is a vocation and, as in any other calling, a writer should develop his talents for the greater glory of God. Novels should be neither homilies nor apologetics: the author's faith, and the grace he has received, will become apparent in his work even if it does not have Catholic characters or a Catholic theme.
Sins become more subtle as you grow older: you commit sins of despair rather than of lust.
Good novels are not written, they are rewritten. Great novels are diamonds mined from layered rewrites.
I'm a fighter. I'm a warrior. I'll fight anybody.
The way in which a society organizes the life of its members. . . is one "project" of realization among others. But once the project has become operative in the basic institutions and relations, it tends to become exclusive and to determine the development of the society as a whole.
I'm most inspired whenever I hear of even the smallest act of human kindness.
Another way to lose control is to ignore something when you should address it.