Dan Stefanovich

“You’d be surprised how common the name Doug is across worlds. Oh, some spell it ‘Dug’ or ‘Duhg’ but it’s always around. Regardless of local linguistics, parents eventually start naming their kids Doug. I once spent ten years on a planet where the only sapient sapient life was a group of pancake-like beings that expressed themselves through flatulence. And I kid you not, one was named Doug. Though admittedly it had a very distinctive smell when the word was “spoken”. Doug is the naming equivalent to convergent evolution. And once it arrives, it stays. A linguistic Great Filter; a wake up call. Once a society reaches peak Doug, it’s time for it to go sit in the corner and think about what it has done.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Tress of the Emerald Sea

“It’s all right,” she whispered. “I know you’re trying. That’s what matters.” Pay attention. At times, this is what heroism looks like.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

“Worry has weight, and is an infinitely renewable resource. One might say worries are the only things you can make heavier simply by thinking about them.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Tress of the Emerald Sea

“Here she is at another meeting, another meeting, watching people shout at each other for stupid reasons.”
― Thomas D. Lee, Perilous Times