On cosmic insignificance:

We are not at the centre of anything, thankfully. We are minuscule bundles of evanescent matter on an infinitesimal corner of a boundless universe. We don't count one bit in the grander scheme ~ that should be a liberation. We should gain relief from the thought of the kindly indifference of spatial infinity, an eternity wh

“You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."

— Cormac McCarthy

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

—Terry Pratchett

“I used to tell this story, about my theory of fucks. The theory goes like so: you are born with so many fucks to give. However many you’ve got is all there is; they are like eggs, that way. Some of us are born with quite a lot, some with less, but none of us knows how many we have. […]

I still tell this story but I’ve changed it somewhat. Like most

A principle isn’t a principle until it costs you something.

- Bill Bernbach

Work backwards from the emotion you're trying to create in the reader. Then let the structure follow.