Mary Moorhead

“I was not a murderer, but I had become an unholy liar, a shameless impostor, and a highwayman with a marked taste for expensive motor-cars.”
― John Buchan, The 39 Steps

“Charlie stood at the open door of the Elevator and stared into the swirling vapors. This, he thought, is what hell must be like. Hell without heat. There was something unholy about it all, something unbelievably diabolical. It was all so deathly quiet, so desolate and empty.”
― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

“Fate goes ever as fate must.”
― Seamus Heaney, Beowulf

“Here are some of the qualities you should possess or should try to acquire if you wish to become a fiction writer:
1. You should have a lively imagination.
2. You should be able to write well. By that I mean you should be able to make a scene some alive in a readers mind. Not everybody has this ability. Its a gift, and you either have it or you don't.
3. You must have stamina. In other words, you must be able to to stick to what your doing and never give up, for hour after hour, day after day, week after week and month after month.
4. You must be a perfectionist. That means you must never be satisfied with what you have written until you have rewritten it again and again, making it as good as you possibly can.
5. You must have strong self discipline. You are working alone. No one is employing you. No one is around to give you the sack if you don't turn up for work, or to tick you off if you start slacking.
6. It helps a lot if you have a keen sense of humor. This is not essential when writing for grown-ups but for children, its vital.
7. You must have a degree of humility. The writer who thinks that his work is marvelous is heading for trouble.”
― Roald Dahl, Lucky Break: How I Became a Writer