XX

“There is only one realm in which characters defy natural laws and remain the same—the realm of bad writing. And it is the fixed nature of the characters that make the writing bad.”
― Lajos Egri

“I fall. I fall and fall, air whipping my face, my shredded arms and legs. It’s almost a relief. A relief to know that everything is going to end in just another instant, when my body hits the water, when every bone breaks, and I sink beneath the waves. I’ll be dead then, and the pain flaring through my senses from all those deadly cuts will be over. The fear of the future will be over as well, and my ten years of enslavement. All will be done.”
― Sylvia Mercedes, Entranced

“I planned my life by the hour as closely as one plans a year, and no further than an hour.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion

“I’ve learned over the years that a smile is a much more effective mask than a non-expression. Every non-expression is ultimately nothing but a blank canvas inviting unwanted and revealing expressions to flash into momentary visibility. But if you’re wearing a smile, those more revealing expressions have nowhere to go.”
― Sylvia Mercedes, Entranced