"It is not a fragrant world. "

I love the smell of Raymond Chandler quotes in the morning:



Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at all. In the end he knows all the tricks and has nothing to say.

If my books had been any worse, I should not have been invited to Hollywood, and if they had been any better, I should not have come.


The more you reason the less you create.


When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split.


Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.


At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution, once revealed, must seem to be inevitable.