List of Harlan Ellison Quotes

The Trap Into Which All Writers Have, Will, Or Should Fall Into, Of Writing The Great American Watchamacallit, Is Such An Uncluttered And Inviting One That From Time To Time I'm Sure Even The Greatest Have To Pull Themselves Up Short By The Shift Key To Remind Themselves That It Is Story First That They Should Write.

Everyone Is Entitled To An *informed* Opinion.

I Can't Picture In My Mind Three Hundred And Sixty Thousand Dollars... When I Think Of It, All I Can See In My Mind Is A Big Nickel.

When Belief In A God Dies, The God Dies.

Any Writer Who Pretends To A Disaffection For Recognition, I Think They're Being Duplicitous.

There In The Midst Of The Amazon Jungle, Simon Haskell Has Cobbled Up For Himself A Replica Of An Art Deco Salon.

Posing The Question: Does The God Of Love Use Underarm Deodorant, Vaginal Spray And Fluoride Toothpaste?

I Never Send A Story Off Until I Have Read It Aloud To At Least Two Or Three People. Because When I Read - And I Don't Need Their Criticism, What I Need Is My Own - When I Read It Aloud, There Is A Flow, There Is A Poetry To It.

Thus, From Admiration Of One Wise And Innocent Child, And From A Misheard Remark, The Process That Not Even Aristotle Could Codify Was Triggered. Where Do You Get Your Ideas? I Purposely Mishear Things.

I Was The Green Monkey, The Pariah. And I Had No Friends. Not Just A Few Friends, Or One Good Friend, Or Grudging Acceptance By Other Misfits And Outcasts. I Was Alone. All Stinking Alone, Without Even An Imaginary Playmate.

There Is Harlan Ellison The Human Being, Who Takes A Crap A Couple Of Times A Day, And Who Farts, And Who Eats Chicken Croquettes, If I Can Find Them. And Then There Is The Writer, This Writer-person, Who Is A Much Finer Person Than I. Much More Orderly, Much More Meaningful. Worthier, Than I [am].

Get A Day Job, Make Your Money From That, And Write To Please Yourself.

They Change Scapegoats At The Networks More Regularly Than Some People Change Socks.

Writing Is A Holy Chore.

For The First Time We Have A Weapon That Nobody Has Used For Thirty Years. This Gives Me Great Hope For The Human Race.

I Am Responsible For Myself. I Am Exactly Who I Eventually Wanted Myself To Be, I Guess, Without Consciously Knowing What I Wanted Me To Be.

Anyone Who Can Not Write Should.

I Made As Many Mistakes As Anybody Else. I Sound As If I'm An Egomaniac, And I Suppose In Some Ways I'm Filled With Hubris Because I Know How Good I Am At Certain Things. But Other Things, I Can't Do At All. I Can't Draw.

Uh, Excuse Me, Sir, I, Uh, Don't Known How To Uh, To Uh, Tell You This, But You Were Three Minutes Late. The Schedule Is A Little, Uh, Bit Off." He Grinned Sheepishly. "that's Ridiculous!" Murmured The Ticktockman Behind His Mask. "check Your Watch." And Then He Went Into His Office, Going Mrmee, Mrmee, Mrmee, Mrmee.

And We Passed Through The Cavern Of Rats. And We Passed Through The Path Of Boiling Steam. And We Passed Through The Country Of The Blind. And We Passed Through The Slough Of Despond. And We Passed Through The Vale Of Tears. And We Came, Finally, To The Ice Caverns.

It Is Not Merely Enough To Love Literature If One Wishes To Spend One's Life As A Writer. It Is A Dangerous Undertaking On The Most Primitive Level. For, It Seems To Me, The Act Of Writing With Serious Intent Involves Enormous Personal Risk. It Entails The Ongoing Courage For Self-discovery. It Means One Will Walk Forever On The Tightrope, With Each New Step Presenting The Possiblity Of Learning A Truth About Oneself That Is Too Terrible To Bear.

In My Ugly, Elitist Opinion We Are Not All Entitled To Voice Our Opinions, We Are Entitled To Pass Along Our Informed Opinions.

The Act Of Writing Means You Wish To Communicate. Whether You're Writing A Memoir For Yourself You Put In A Drawer, Or You Write A Poem And You Send It To A Little Magazine, Or You Write For Publication, It Always Means - The Form Follows Function.

Repent, Harlequin," Said The Ticktock Man. "get Stuffed," The Harlequin Replied.