To achieve style, begin by affecting none.

To achieve style, begin by affecting none.

E. B. White

I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel.

I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel.

We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.

We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.

An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write.

An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write.

There's no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.

There's no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.

Safety is all well and good: I prefer freedom.

Safety is all well and good: I prefer freedom.

Life's meaning has always eluded me and I guess always will. But I love it just the same.

Life's meaning has always eluded me and I guess always will. But I love it just the same.

Loneliness is a strange gift.

Loneliness is a strange gift.

All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.

All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.

Semi-colons only prove that the author has been to college.

Semi-colons only prove that the author has been to college.

I am always humbled by the infinite ingenuity of the Lord, who can make a red barn cast a blue shadow.

I am always humbled by the infinite ingenuity of the Lord, who can make a red barn cast a blue shadow.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.

Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.

Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.

The best writing is rewriting.

The best writing is rewriting.

No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader's intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing.

No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader's intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing.

Habitually creative people are prepared to be lucky.

Habitually creative people are prepared to be lucky.

Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.

Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.

Reading is the work of the alert mind, is demanding, and under ideal conditions produces finally a sort of ecstasy.

Reading is the work of the alert mind, is demanding, and under ideal conditions produces finally a sort of ecstasy.

I have one share in corporate Earth, and I am nervous about the management.

I have one share in corporate Earth, and I am nervous about the management.