Each morning my characters greet me with misty faces willing, though chilled, to muster for another day's progress through the dazzling quicksand the marsh of blank paper.

Quote by John Updike

Topics: Progress Quotes

The first breath of adultery is the freest; after it, constraints aping marriage develop.

The first breath of adultery is the freest; after it, constraints aping marriage develop.

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions,...

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions,...

The essential self is innocent, and when it tastes its own innocence knows that it...

The essential self is innocent, and when it tastes its own innocence knows that it...

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would...

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would...

Perfectionism is the enemy of creation, as extreme self-solitude is the enemy of well-being.

Perfectionism is the enemy of creation, as extreme self-solitude is the enemy of well-being.

Religion enables us to ignore nothingness and get on with the jobs of life.

Religion enables us to ignore nothingness and get on with the jobs of life.

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself...

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself...

Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second...

Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second...

An affair wants to spill, to share its glory with the world. No act is...

An affair wants to spill, to share its glory with the world. No act is...

Natural beauty is essentially temporary and sad; hence the impression of obscene mockery which artificial...

Natural beauty is essentially temporary and sad; hence the impression of obscene mockery which artificial...

Being naked approaches being revolutionary; going barefoot is mere populism.

Being naked approaches being revolutionary; going barefoot is mere populism.

The city overwhelmed our expectations. The Kiplingesque grandeur of Waterloo Station, the Eliotic despondency of...

The city overwhelmed our expectations. The Kiplingesque grandeur of Waterloo Station, the Eliotic despondency of...

Sex is like money; only too much is enough.

Sex is like money; only too much is enough.

Golf appeals to the idiot in us and the child. Just how childlike golf players...

Golf appeals to the idiot in us and the child. Just how childlike golf players...

The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of...

The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of...

Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.

Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.

How do you write women so well? I think of a man and I take...

How do you write women so well? I think of a man and I take...

Americans have been conditioned to respect newness, whatever it costs them.

Americans have been conditioned to respect newness, whatever it costs them.

That a marriage ends is less than ideal; but all things end under heaven, and...

That a marriage ends is less than ideal; but all things end under heaven, and...

Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.

Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.