Quote of the Day (Stephen King, on How His Wife Saved 'Carrie'—And His Writing Career)

“[Carrie, his first book] started as a short story. It was going to be one of these stories I sold to Cavalier or Swank or one of those magazines — I had not stepped up to Penthouse at that point. I started it and saw it was going to be longer than a short story, and I threw it away. My wife [Tabitha] picked it out of the trash, smoothed out the pages that I'd written, and she said: ‘This is good. You should go on with this.’ I said, ‘I don't know anything about girls' locker rooms.’ She said, ‘I will tell you everything you need to know.’”—American horror-fiction author Stephen King quoted by Jeremy Egner, “He Is the King,” The New York Times, Oct. 18, 2026

(The image accompanying this post shows Sissy Spacek in the iconic locker-room scene in the 1976 film adaptation of Carrie.)

Quote of the Day (Patti Smith, on Her Youthful Literary Ambition)

“I believed I could write the longest book in the world, record the events of every single day. I would write it all down in such a way that everyone would find something of themselves.”—American poet and rock ‘n’ roll singer-songwriter Patti Smith, Bread of Angels: A Memoir (2025)

(The image accompanying this post, of Patti Smith performing at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, was taken by her sister, Kimberly Smith, on Dec. 31, 2007.)

Quote of the Day (John Irving, on Free Time and Writing)

“The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything.” —American novelist and screenwriter John Irving quoted by R.Z. Sheppard, “Life into Art: Novelist John Irving,” Time Magazine, Aug. 31, 1981

The image accompanying this post, John Irving in the Netherlands, was taken on May 2, 1989, by Rob Bogaerts (ANEFO).