I don’t try and write strong female characters or strong male characters. I just try and write, hopefully, strong characters and sometimes they happen to be female. - JJ Abrams

My father’s voice comes back to me. “Not these, Katniss. Never these. They’re nightlock. You’ll be dead before they reach your stomach.” - The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

It’s important to note that guidelines may vary a little based on who you talk to or what you read, but by following the ones stated… you will make sure your manuscript looks clean, easy to read, and won’t get rejected because of sloppy formatting. - Brian A Klems

Write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter. - Neil Gaiman

I always try to use my medium, and if I get into a normal sitcom-writing contest with normal sitcom writers, I'm going to lose. - Dan Harmon

Writers often wrestle with the written word alone, but competitions can be a way to connect with a larger community. After all, stories can benefit others, and judges of writing contests want to celebrate success. - Audrey Wick

Let’s face it: The ‘genius’ stuff happens in the editing process. - Jeff Goins

To write is human, to edit is divine. - Stephen King

Success and failure. We think of them as opposites, but they're really not. They're companions - the hero and the sidekick. - Laurence Shames

Westley: To the pain means the first thing you will lose will be your feet below the ankles. Then your hands at the wrists. Next your nose.Prince Humperdinck: And then my tongue I suppose, I killed you too quickly the last time. A mistake I don't mean to duplicate tonight.Westley: I wasn't finished. The next thing you will lose will be your left eye followed by your right.Prince Humperdinck: And then my ears, I understand let's get on with it.Westley: WRONG. Your ears you keep and I'll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, "Dear God! What is that thing," will echo in your perfect ears. That is what "to the pain means." It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever. - The Princess Bride

Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. This means that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Peter did not feel very brave; indeed, he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do. - C.S. Lewis; The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

There’s a lot more to publishing a book than writing it and slapping a cover on it. - Vince Flynn

No one can discover you until you do. Exploit your talents, skills, and strengths and make the world sit up and take notice. - Rob Liano

I'm always pretending that I'm sitting across from someone telling them a story and I don't want them to get up until I'm finished. - James Patterson

I edit my own stories to death. They eventually run and hide from me. - Jeanne Voelker

Words have the capacity for deception. They're all full of subtext, and some of them are cliche and overused and vernacular. They're tricky. All I can say is, words are tricky. - Andrew Bird

Your passion for words and sentence structure should equal a painter’s passion for color and brushstroke. - Andrew McAleen

Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams. They are journeys you can make to the far side of the universe and still be back in time for dinner. - Neil Gaiman

I always read books twice. The first time you appreciate the story, the second time you appreciate the writing. - Unknown