One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.
I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel.
Whatever else an American believes or disbelieves about himself, he is absolutely sure he has a sense of humor.
Don’t write about Man; write about a man.
No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader’s intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing.
The best writing is rewriting.
I have one share in corporate Earth, and I am nervous about the management.
Advice to young writers wo want to get ahead without any annoying delays: don’t write about Man, write about a man.
English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education – sometimes it’s sheer luck, like getting across the street.
A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.
When snow accumulates week after week, month after month, it works curious miracles.
There is a decivilizing bug somewhere at work; unconsciously persons of stern worth, by not resenting and resisting the small indignities of the times, are preparing themselves for the eventual acceptance of what they themselves know they don’t want.
You can dissect a joke just as you can a frog. But it tends to die on you.
When I get sick of what men do, I have only to walk a few steps in another direction to see what spiders do. Or what the weather does. This sustains me very well indeed.
Habitually creative people are prepared to be lucky.
When you consider that there are a thousand ways to express even the simplest idea, it is no wonder writers are under a great strain. Writers care greatly how a thing is said – it makes all the difference. So they are constantly faced with too many choices and must make too many decisions.
The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
Why is it, do you suppose, that an Englishman is unhappy until he has explained America?
Salutations; it’s just my fancy way of saying hello or good morning.