The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, the ring ensnared a new bearer. - Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings

People underestimating me is my secret weapon. - James Patterson

There is something inherently hopeful in unlikely friendships, I think. It speaks to our ability to surprise and connect - and how, in all the ways that matter, we are not really that different. - Emily Spurr

Costello: And you don't know the fellows' names?Abbott: Well I should.Costello: Well then who's on first?Abbott: Yes.Costello: I mean the fellow's name.Abbott: Who.Costello: The guy on first.Abbott: Who.Costello: The first baseman.Abbott: Who.Costello: The guy playing...Abbott: Who is on first! - Abbott and Costello

Plenty of masterpieces are just one cliché after another, Mozart for example, but that's quite natural, because if you think about it, two clichés that have met one another can beget the most original and profound effect. - Thomas Ades

Good description is a learned skill, one of those primary reasons you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot. It’s not just a question of how-to, you see; it’s also a question of how much to. Reading will help you answer how much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how. You can learn only by doing. - Stephen King

I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose. - Stephen King

Character is plot, plot is character. - F Scott Fitzgerald

I craft everything in the beginning. I know where the characters are going before I start writing the book. - Ann Patchett

My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many. - J.R.R. Tolkien

Every composer knows the anguish and despair occasioned by forgetting ideas which one had no time to write down. - Hector Berlioz

Magic happens between the notes. - Linda Bott

Writers aren’t people exactly. Or, if they’re any good, they’re a whole lot of people trying so hard to be one person. - F. Scott Fitzgerald

People - and characters - are made up of their past experiences. When crafting a character, one of the most important aspects we consider is her past. - Sky Fairwin

One brain’s blueprint may promote joy more readily than most; in another, pessimism reigns. Whether happiness infuses or eludes a person depends, in part, on the DNA he has chanced to receive. - Thomas Lewis