On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft (A Memoir of the Craft (Reissue))

The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning.

Writing is refined thinking.

I would argue that the paragraph, not the sentence, is the basic unit of writing—the place where coherence begins and words stand a chance of becoming more than mere words. If the moment of quickening is to come, it comes at the level of the paragraph.

We are writers, and we never ask one another where we get our ideas; we know we don’t know.

In my view, stories and novels consist of three parts: narration, which moves the story from point A to point B and finally to point Z; description, which creates a sensory reality for the reader; and dialogue, which brings characters to life through their speech.

I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.