David Lipsky quotes:

One of the things that writing and speech can do is express what we're thinking one thought at a time.

Hemingway changed prose; so did Salinger and Nabokov.

I wanted to earn a living wage and to see something nice about me in the 'New York Times.' I wanted my mother to be proud. I wanted all the things you want and also feel silly for wanting. I wanted readers to say they'd enjoyed something of mine - to see my photo in magazines where I'd seen photos of other writers.

I know people who are medicated and it's their favorite subject.

My ambition is to not embarrass myself--which, if you know me, is a pretty serious ambition.

I always fear that when I really impose my will on something, the universe is gonna punish me.

And I think that the ultimate way you and I get lucky is if you have some success early in life, you get to find out early it doesn't mean anything. Which means you get to start early the work of figuring out what does mean something -- David Foster Wallace