If the written word has contributed anything at all to our developing species and our half developed culture, it is this: Great writing has been a staff to lean on, a mother to consult, a wisdom to pick up stumbling folly, a strength in weakness and ...
What do you fear, lady?" (Aragorn) asked. "A cage," (Éowyn) said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire." — J.R.R. Tolkien (The Two Towers)
I remember the shift that occurred after Abby was born - there'd been the great big before, where dying grandparents and natural disasters on the news were sad but mostly distant concerns. But then I became a mother, and when that happens, you cross ...
I remember the sift that occurred after Abby was born - there'd been the great big before, where dying grandparents and natural disasters on the news were sad but mostly distant concerns. But then I became a mother, and when that happens, you cross a...
I'd like to emphasize that when a reader finishes a great novel, he will immediately begin looking for another. If someone loves your book, it increases the chance that he or she will look at mine. So there is no competition between writers. Another ...
I'm an atheist, and I don't have any belief in an afterlife. You could say that I'm resigned to the fact that this wonderful life that we get here is it. And having hit 60, it's a good time to get resigned to these things and not be too nervous or up...
If I were related to Monet, I don't know if I would be comfortable becoming an artist because it's too much, the comparison. If I wrote a book and put it out, the comparison to my great-grandfather, the comparison would be hilarious. Every critic, it...
I cannot tell you how important fresh, crisp writing is for an aspiring writer. Plot is great. The overall concept is super important. But the writing is what sells your work. It all boils down to the words you choose and the order in which you arran...
in this great land of the free we call it human trafficking. And so long as we don’t partake in the luxury, ignoring slavery is of no consequence. It is much easier to look away and ignore the victims. The person who ignores slavery justifies it by...
There is no right or wrong. There is no weak or strong. There is only you. There is no poetry or song. There is no short or long. There is only you. There is no beast or beauty. There is no task or duty. There is only you. There is no passion or miss...
I don't know where people got the idea that characters in books are supposed to be likable. Books are not in the business of creating merely likeable characters with whom you can have some simple identification with. Books are in the business of crea...
Dr. Alan Grant: [Grant throws a branch at the inert perimeter fence] I guess that means the power's off. [Grant grabs the fence, pretending to be electrocuted and Lex and Tim scream] Lex: [Grant smiles at Lex and Tim] That's not funny. Tim: [laughing...
To be a good director, you have to spend a lot of time on actual sets, but today, there's a lot of people who spend a lot of time in dark rooms writing a script, and they'll go in and tell the story to some suit at a studio who says, 'Okay, this is g...
Chris: You're gonna be a great writer someday, Gordie. You might even write about us guys if you ever get hard-up for material. Gordie: [wiping away his tears] Guess I'd have to be pretty hard-up, huh?
Zoo Keeper: Story goes, these great big rats come scuttling off the slave ships and raped all the little tree monkeys. The natives use them in black magic rituals. Don't ask me how, probably suck the blood of virgins, eh, eh?
[last lines] Title Card: Several times decorated with the Order of Lenin, Vassilli Zaitsev was lated elevated to the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union. His rifle can still be seen today at the Stalingrad History Museum, among the great symbols of the ...
Skylar: Maybe we could go out for coffee sometime? Will: Great, or maybe we could get together and just eat a bunch of caramels. Skylar: What? Will: When you think about it, it's just as arbitrary as drinking coffee. Skylar: [laughs] Okay, sounds goo...
Author: When the destiny of a great fortune is at stake, men's greed spreads like a poison in the bloodstream. Uncles, nephews, cousins, in-laws of increasingly tenuous connection. The old woman's distant relations had come foraging out of the woodwo...
Dr. Peter Venkman: He slimed me. Dr Ray Stantz: That's great. Actual physical contact. Can you move? Dr. Egon Spengler: [over walkie-talkie] Ray, Ray, come in please. Dr. Peter Venkman: I feel so funky.
Benjamin: Where did you do it? Mrs. Robinson: In his car. Benjamin: What kind of car was it? Mrs. Robinson: Come on now. Benjamin: No, I really want to know. Mrs. Robinson: A Ford. Benjamin: Goddamn, that's great. So old Elaine Robinson got started i...
Rob: The two to on my top five all-time break up list was Penny Hardwick. Rob: Penny was great looking and her top five recording artists were Carly Simon, Carole King, James Taylor, Cat Stevens and Elton John.
