James R McManusI wouldn’t do anything for money that I wouldn’t do for nothing… What I mean is, a little old lady comes in and wants a favor. I do it. A big law firm wants a favor. I say, buy 50 tickets for my cocktail party. They’re not bribing me. They’re just supporting me.
Month: April 2019
Thomas Michael Bond On Fantasy
Thomas Michael Bond (January 13, 1926 – June 27, 2017)
One of the nice things about writing for children is their total acceptance of the fantastic. Give a child a stick and a patch of wet sand and it will draw the outline of a boat and accept it as such. I did learn though, that to make fantasy work you have to believe in it yourself. If an author doesn’t believe in his inventions and his characters nobody else will. Paddington to me is, and always has been, very much alive.
Oliver Sacks On Perspective
Oliver Sacks (July 9, 1933 –August 30, 2015)
I feel a sudden clear focus and perspective. There is no time for anything inessential. I must focus on myself, my work and my friends. I shall no longer look at “NewsHour” every night. I shall no longer pay any attention to politics or arguments about global warming…This is not indifference but detachment.
Maria Popova On Chance and Choice
Maria Popova (July 28, 1984 -)
Chance and choice converge to make us who we are, and although we may mistake chance for choice, our choices are the cobblestones, hard and uneven, that pave our destiny. They are ultimately all we can answer for and point to in the architecture of our character.
Shilpa Bhatia On “Fitting In”
Shilpa BhatiaWhy fit in, when you’re born to stand out!
William Lewis Safire On Writing
William Lewis Safire (December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009)
Composition is a discipline; it forces us to think. If you want to ‘get in touch with your feelings,’ fine — talk to yourself; we all do. But, if you want to communicate with another thinking human being, get in touch with your thoughts. Put them in order; give them a purpose; use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce. The secret way to do this is to write it down and then cut out the confusing parts.
Samuel Levenson On Mistakes
Samuel Levenson (December 28, 1911 – August 27, 1980)
You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make all of them yourself.
