A nice state of affairs when a man has to indulge his vices by proxy. Raymond Chandler More Quotes by Raymond Chandler More Quotes From Raymond Chandler The streets were dark with something more then night. Raymond Chandler streetsdarknight The French have a phrase for it. The bastards have a phrase for everything and they are always right. To say goodbye is to die a little. Raymond Chandler phraseslittlesgoodbye Most people go through life using up half their energy trying to protect a dignity they never had Raymond Chandler halftryingpeople There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge. Raymond Chandler partyhusbandfighting The wet air was as cold as the ashes of love. Raymond Chandler ashescoldair From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away. Raymond Chandler womenclassfunny She had eyes like strange sins. Raymond Chandler strangesineye I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room. Raymond Chandler gunhomecountry A good title is the title of a successful book. Raymond Chandler inspirationsuccessfulbook The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slow, I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them. Raymond Chandler pushingwritingmean When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand. Raymond Chandler gunwritingmen The best way to find out if you have any friends is to go broke. The ones that hang on longest are your friends. I don't mean the ones that hang on forever. There aren't any of those. Raymond Chandler forevermeanway The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of that little out and still preserve an effect of leisure and natural movement Raymond Chandler movementchallengeswriting When a book, any sort of book, reaches a certain intensity of artistic performance, it becomes literature. That intensity may be a matter of style, situation, character, emotional tone, or idea, or half a dozen other things. It may also be a perfection of control over the movement of a story similar to the control a great pitcher has over the ball. Raymond Chandler emotionalcharacterbook The most durable thing in writing is style, and style is the single most valuable investment a writer can make with his time. Raymond Chandler investmentstylewriting The test of a writer is whether you want to read him again years after he should by the rules be dated. Raymond Chandler wantwritingyears When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it stays split. Raymond Chandler splitsgrammardamn A writer who is afraid to overreach himself is as useless as a general who is afraid to be wrong. Raymond Chandler useless Police business is a hell of a problem. It's a good deal like politics. It asks for the highest type of men, and there's nothing in it to attract the highest type of men. Raymond Chandler policeproblemmen It was a cool day and very clear. You could see a long way-but not as far as Velma had gone. Raymond Chandler gonelongway
