Every writer should have tattooed backwards on their forehead, like "AMBULANCE" on ambulances, the words: EVERYBODY NEEDS AN EDITOR. Michael Crichton
The only mastery is getting increasingly comfortable with the idea that you are never going to be a master—you are going to be a perennial clueless beginner with every new story, really, for sure. You’d better be, or you’ll turn into a hack. George Saunders
"... the things that matter most are the things that you can't see -- the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are." former President Jimmy Carter
When beginning, be humble. Remember that your first, blank page has this in common with all other blank pages. It has not read your previous works. Don't be enthralled by the sound of your own voice. John Irving
Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance. James Baldwin
Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke. F. Scott Fitzgerald