F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Art invariably grows out of a period when, in general, the artist admires his own nation and wants to win its approval."

"Artistic temperament is like a king with vigor and unlimited opportunity. You shake the structure to pieces by playing with it."

"Work like hell! I had 122 rejection slips before I sold a story."

"My whole theory of writing I can sum up in one sentence. An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmasters of ever afterward."

"Mostly, we authors must repeat ourselves - that's the truth. We have two or three great and moving experiences in our lives - experiences so great and moving that it doesn't seem at the time anyone else has been so caught up and so pounded and dazzled and astonished and beaten and broken and rescued and illuminated and rewarded and humbled in just that way ever before. Then we learn our trade, well or less well, and we tell our two or three stories - each time in a new disguise - maybe ten times, maybe a hundred, as long as people will listen."

"An artist is someone who can hold two opposing viewpoints and still remain fully functional."

"Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke."

"For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over again."

"That’s going to be your trouble — judgment about yourself.(Tender is the Night)"

"The kiss originated when the first male reptile licked the first female reptile, implying in a subtle way that she was as succulent as the small reptile he had for dinner the night before."

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living."

"She was beautiful, but not like those girls in the magazines. She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasn't beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul. She is beautiful."

"I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it's these things I'd believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything."