Category: Quotes

“The wise man is only wise because he loves. The fool is only foolish because he thinks he can understand love.” – Paulo Coelho, By The River Piedra, I Sat Down And Wept

“Love is the only thing that activates our intelligence and our creativity, that purifies and liberates us.” – Paulo Coelho, The Zahir

“Risk failure, disappointment, disillusion, but never cease in your search for love. As long as you keep looking, you will triumph in the end.” – Paulo Coelho, Brida

“It is obvious that a mediocre book is always too long, and that a great one usually seems too short.” – Edith Wharton

“Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World.” – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“Maybe if it’s raining and I’m in the bedroom with the curtains closed but still hearing the rain, then an old book is ok, especially if it smells stale and has that thick, brittle paper.” – Frederich Barthelme, Margaret and Bud

“It is a classic instance of the maxim that literary works are made out of other literary works.” – Donald R. Howard

“Who often reads will sometimes wish to write.” – George Crabbe, Tales: Edward Shore

“One can never be alone enough when one writes.” – Franz Kafka

“Delay is natural to a writer. He is like a surfer – he bides his time, waits for the perfect wave on which to ride in. Delay is instinctive with him. He waits for the surge (of emotion? Of strength? Of courage?) that will carry him along. I have no warm-up exercises, other than to take an occasional drink. I am apt to let something simmer for a while in my mind before trying to put it into words…I revise a great deal. I know when something is right because bells begin ringing and lights flash. I’m not at all sure what the ‘necessary equipment’ is for a writer – it seems to vary greatly with the individual. Some writers are equipped with extrasensory perception. Some have a good ear, like O’Hara. Some are equipped with humor – although not really as many as you think they are. Some are equipped with a massive intellect like Wilson. Some are prodigious. I do think the ability to evaluate one’s own stuff with reasonable accuracy is a helpful piece of equipment.” – E.B. White, Writers at Work