"To start a narrative, you need a batch of things. Not feelings, not opinions, not sentiments, not judgments, not arguments, but specific objects and events. A sticky strand of a spider's web, a fogged window, a dog chewing a sock, a frozen pond... If you take pains to be precise about things, feelings will take care of themselves. If you try to force a reader's feelings through dramatic writing (writhe, ecstasy, scream), you make a fool of yourself, like someone at a party trying too hard to be liked."
                                                ~ Annie Dillard

   "Nobody ever admired a penis for its intelligence."
                                                ~ Jeff Shapiro, RENATO'S LUCK

   "Develop your own voice. Then believe in yourself."
                                                ~ JoEllen Conger, RETURN OF THE GODDESS