O. Henry Professions : Writer Born : September 11, 1862 Died : June 5, 1910 Browse All Authors Top 103 quotes by O. Henry Yes, I get dry spells. Sometimes I can't turn out a thing for three months. When one of those spells comes on I quit trying to work and go out and see something of life. You can't write a story that's got any life in it by sitting at a writing table and thinking. You've got to get out into the streets, into the crowds, talk with people, and feel the rush and throb of real life-that's the stimulant for a story writer. O. Henry real writing thinking If you live in an atmosphere of luxury, luxury is yours whether your money pays for it, or another's. O. Henry atmosphere luxury pay There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating. O. Henry reflection littles life She had become so thoroughly annealed into his life that she was like the air he breathed--necessary but scarcely noticed. O. Henry air Most wonderful of all are words, and how they make friends one with another. O. Henry wonderful When one loves one's Art no service seems too hard. O. Henry one-love seems art Of habit, the power that keeps the earth from flying to pieces; though there is some silly theory of gravitation. O. Henry pieces flying silly When a man begins to be hilarious in a sorrowful way you can bet a million that he is dyeing his hair. O. Henry hair men way She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership). O. Henry ownership invisible universal It'll be a great place if they ever finish it. O. Henry ifs new-york By nature and doctrines I am addicted to the habit of discovering choice places wherein to feed. O. Henry doctrine habit choices All great men have declared that they owe their sucess to the aid and encouragement of some brilliant woman. O. Henry sucess brilliant encouragement There are a few editor men with whom I am privileged to come in contact. It has not been long since it was their habit to come in contact with me. There is a difference. O. Henry editors differences men Beauty is Nature in perfection; circularity is its chief attribute. Behold the full moon, the enchanting golf ball, the domes of splendid temples, the huckleberry pie, the wedding ring, the circus ring, the ring for the waiter, and the "round" of drinks. O. Henry pie moon golf Greenwich Village... the village of low rents and high arts. O. Henry village lows art There is no well defined boundary line between honesty and dishonesty. The frontiers of one blend with the outside limits of the other, and he who attempts to tread this dangerous ground may be sometimes in the one domain and sometimes in the other. O. Henry lines honesty truth It couldn't have happened anywhere but in little old New York. O. Henry old-new-york new-york littles East is East, and West is San Francisco, according to Californians. Californians are a race of people; they are not merely inhabitants of a State. O. Henry san-francisco race people I'll give you the sole secret of short-story writing, and here it is: Rule 1. Write stories that please yourself. There is no rule 2. The technical points you can get from Bliss Perry. If you can't write a story that pleases yourself, you will never please the public. But in writing the story forget the public. O. Henry secret writing giving There is a saying that no man has tasted the full flavor of life until he has known poverty, love, and war. O. Henry men war life Similar Authors Ihab Hassan writer Ingmar Bergman writer Isabella Bird writer Ivan E. Coyote writer Al Feldstein writer Bert Sugar writer All Authors