I think, in the grand epic, Jesus is the hero of our stories. And our stories, as they were, are subplots in a grand epic and our job is not to be the hero of any story. Our job is to be a saint in a story that he is telling. Donald Miller
I started 'Storyline' after I'd accomplished all my goals and still wasn't happy. I'd become a 'New York Times' bestselling author, which was my goal from high school, and yet I was less happy after accomplishing my goals than I was before. Donald Miller
Sunday morning church service is not an enormous priority; spending time with other believers is. Donald Miller
Meaning is something we experience more than we attain. It's like finding a nice, easy current in a river that carries you through life. Donald Miller
I think understanding your life as a story is a really terrific way of kind of knowing where you are and knowing who you are. Donald Miller
We don't naturally want to take responsibility for our lives. We want to give the responsibility to someone else. We blame them when our lives aren't good. Donald Miller
Without a positive male role model in your life, it is extremely difficult to become a man who benefits his family and benefits society. Donald Miller
I believe the most intricate plot won't matter much to readers if they don't care about the characters, especially in a series. So I try to focus hard on making each character, whether villain or hero, have an interesting flaw that readers can relate to. Jeff Abbott
It's not at all uncommon for a writer to get a ton of publicity for one book and then not get as much for the next one. I don't worry about that because I try to worry about the one single part of the job I can control: the writing of the book. If I do that well, I feel, good tidings generally will follow and readers will stick with me. Jeff Abbott
I outline in some detail, but even after the outline is done I often get a new idea that is an improvement, so the outline is a living, breathing thing as well. I also re-outline when I'm two-thirds done, to be sure that there is an emotional payoff from all the plot lines and to be sure the story is as tight as it can be. Jeff Abbott
The nicest notes I've received from readers are those that tell me I've gotten them back into reading for entertainment. For me, there is no greater compliment. Jeff Abbott
No one forces me, or any other writer, to sell a film option on the books. If you don't want to run the risk that the filmmakers may adapt your work in a way you don't like, then you don't sell the option. You know when you sell it that they will have to make some changes, just because film and TV are different media than books. Jeff Abbott
I do think Austin is a great town for writers; we have a lot of them here. But I grew up in Austin, and so I didn't move here because it was a creative mecca; I was just lucky to live here. Jeff Abbott
I want to be a writer you can always depend on for a good read during your vacation, during your flight, during a time in your life when you want to forget the world around you. Jeff Abbott
People before the public live an imagined life in the thought of others, and flourish or feel faint as their self outside themselves grows bright or dwindles in that mirror. Logan Pearsall Smith
What joy can the years bring half so sweet as the unhappiness they've taken away? Logan Pearsall Smith
To suppose as we all suppose, that we could be rich and not behave as the rich behave, is like supposing that we could drink all day and stay sober. Logan Pearsall Smith
There is one thing that matters, to set a chime of words tinkling in the minds of a few fastidious people. Logan Pearsall Smith