Writing is a consequence of having been 'haunted' by material. Why this is, no one knows.

Writing is a consequence of having been 'haunted' by material. Why this is, no one knows.

Joyce Carol Oates

Things that came apart could be put together again, but never exactly the same.

Things that came apart could be put together again, but never exactly the same.

The scariest part of forever is that nothing is.

The scariest part of forever is that nothing is.

A person who says

A person who says "it's your decision" is informing you that your decision sucks.

It's hard to see clearly when your eyes are squinched tight out of fear.

It's hard to see clearly when your eyes are squinched tight out of fear.

Much in our lives is chance.

Much in our lives is chance.

Ultimately, we measure ourselves against our own ideas of idealism and perfection, and we don't always come very close to them.

Ultimately, we measure ourselves against our own ideas of idealism and perfection, and we don't always come very close to them.

Tragedy is the highest form of art.

Tragedy is the highest form of art.

If you're living with a scientist, you see the world differently than you do with a humanist. It's in some ways very subtle, the differences in perceiving reality.

If you're living with a scientist, you see the world differently than you do with a humanist. It's in some ways very subtle, the differences in perceiving reality.

The cleaning is something I use as a reward if I get some work done. I go into a very happy state of mind when I'm vacuuming.

The cleaning is something I use as a reward if I get some work done. I go into a very happy state of mind when I'm vacuuming.

My writing is full of lives I might have led.

My writing is full of lives I might have led.

Night comes to the desert all at once, as if someone turned off the light.

Night comes to the desert all at once, as if someone turned off the light.

the music was always in the background, like music at a church service; it was something to depend upon.

the music was always in the background, like music at a church service; it was something to depend upon.

Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!

Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!

It feels good, honey, but it isn't love.

It feels good, honey, but it isn't love.

Beauty is a question of optics. All sight is illusion.

Beauty is a question of optics. All sight is illusion.

The greatest realities are physical and economic, all the subtleties of life come afterward.

The greatest realities are physical and economic, all the subtleties of life come afterward.

We are linked by blood, and blood is memory without language.

We are linked by blood, and blood is memory without language.

I have beliefs, of course, like everyone-but I don't always believe in them.

I have beliefs, of course, like everyone-but I don't always believe in them.