Homer Hickam Quotes

All I've done is give you a book," she said. "You have to have the courage to learn what's inside it.

Despite the ills of our society, we largely live among compassionate, kind and optimistic people who are striving to do good. [ ... ] Learn how to be happy and keep this in mind: You can't be happy unless you stop being afraid.

I would tell people some years later that I was raised an only child and so was my brother.

Not much comes easy in this world, Sonny. If it does, it's best to be suspicious of it. It's probably not worth much.

A rocket won't fly unless somebody lights the fuse!

It was during a strike when I first saw hate on a man's face. Hate is an awful thing. It gets inside you and makes you do things you swear you'd never do.

I had my fun with you yesterday, Homer, with Bruiser and all, but I hope you know I care about you. You're a good man, maybe too good by a sight, so keep in mind there's a Depression out where you're going. We're mostly walled off from it here in the mountains. People you'll run across are going to be desperate. Stay on guard." "I

So, you met Steinbeck," mused Hemingway over his port after the women had left. "It is a fateful peculiarity that you might meet him and me at virtually the same time. To what do you attribute that, Homer?" "I don't know, sir," Homer answered. "Just the way it worked out, I guess." "Don't you believe it. There are no coincidences in life. Although the big God of the Hebrews might be the greatest of them, I believe there are small gods who watch out and sometimes determine our fate. I believe they also like to have a little fun with us from time to time. Kismet. You heard of it?" "I

A man can't hit a woman and stay a man. He becomes a loathsome thing, even to himself. But the woman who stays with such a man panders to his darkness. They both risk their souls.

There's a plan. If you're willing to fight it hard enough, you can make it detour for a while, but you're still going to end up wherever God wants you to be. G

Death ain't nothin'," the tied-up man retorted. "It's how you die. Watch me, boys, and learn somethin'!

It is better to confess ignorance than provide it.

Lunar Geology Rocks.

Always I try to write about people. People are interested in other people always.

Writer's block to me is where you stop because you're afraid to go forward because you're not sure of what really should be happening next and you think, my gosh, if I choose this ... you've got a hundred millions of avenues you could possibly go down but it's all an assess of characters.

The key to not getting rejected if you're writing for a magazine, is to know to read that magazine and know everything about them before you ever make a submission.

Elsie started to tell a lie she knew her husband wanted to hear. I don't love Buddy. I love you. To her astonishment, what came out was "I'm sorry." When she realized what she had said, she tried to tell her lie again but it still came out the same. "I'm sorry." "So

Anybody raised here belongs here. You can't belong anywhere else

A lot of folks just get it in their head that, for instance, like writing memoirs is just easy. You just write down what happened. It doesn't quite work that way.

My agent in Miami told me you were coming. I like to keep up with who's coming to my island, especially government and railroad men. Typically, I don't like either one but considering your girl here and your car and the fact that you have an alligator with a rooster on his back, I would guess you might be at least interesting. Name's Ernest. Some people call me Hem." After a brief pause he added, "As in Hemingway." Homer

You've got to be a good reader. So whatever genre that you're interested in, read a lot of books about it and it's better than any kind of writing class you'll ever take. You will absorb techniques and then in a lot of cases you can just start writing using the style of the book or the author that you admire and then your own style will emerge out of that. Be a diligent reader and then try to write seriously, professionally and approach everything in writing in a professional way.

There are two things every woman really wants: one, she wants to know that a man really loves her, and two, that he isn't going to stop.

I'm a writer. These people are American nomads, forever on the move, trying to feed themselves and their families. I'm thinking about writing a book about them. My name is John Steinbeck. Perhaps you've heard of me." After

Agitators were dispatched to Coalwood in droves and, very soon, wildcat strikes were hitting the mine every

You clearly are a remarkable man," she said, "to travel with such creatures. The rooster is much more than he seems, as is the alligator. But, of course, you know that." Homer

The way I see it, if everybody ran from bad things instead of trying to stop them, bad things would be all there is.

I didn't care ... about heroes who could read minds or walk through walls or do magic. The heroes I liked had courage and knew more real stuff than those who opposed them.