First School Press

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Mr. Micawber’s answer expressed the disturbance of his mind. He said, shaking hands with me, ‘Copperfield, you are a true friend; but when the worst comes to the worst, no man is without a friend who is possessed of shaving materials.’

"Saturday, January 1st, 1848. — Read St. John. No church. Weather very mild, though snow fell in the night. Walking very bad, and I paid no visits out of the family. Had ***, ***, ***, ***, and ***, at dinner. A very merry evening with the young people. Played chess with my wife. Wrote a little in 'Oak Openings' to begin the year with."

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

"I can't say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days."

"I don't have to say four letter words around women and kids to make myself a name."

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

“To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it.”

She turned to Sam. “An artist needs encouragement, Mr. Livermore. If he’s a good artist, he’s never satisfied with what he does. He’s forever doing over and doing over, and feeling uncertain about what he’s done; so he oughtn’t to have worries over and above his work. What he most needs is peace of mind—and I’ve done all I could to see that Langdon had it.”
Anne Towne, wife of Langdon Towne
Kenneth Roberts-Northwest Passage

“If being a writer should make you happy- revel in it, love it, but never forget that for the most part, WRITING  is soul-sucking, time-consuming hard work!”
–MLJ

“Memories are always perfect to the folks who are doing the remembering.” —MLJ

“Some things I did, not because I was childish, but because I was a child.”—MLJ

“I was happy when I finally decided to just write for myself. Then I only had one person to please.”–MLJ