Diana Wynne Jones

Sometimes people get themselves into a state about all sorts of things and ruin their own lives. All because they think they ought to be doing something that they are not doing, or that they ought to be feeling something that they are not feeling.

Being frightened was no excuse at all. He had been frightened all his life. Being sad was no excuse either. He had been sad all his life. He had only himself to blame if he preferred to be frightened and sad, rather than happy.

If you want to be a hero, you need to have a bit of a clue about things.

One thing that makes you a coward is if you keep breaking your promises to yourself.

It's not a matter of whether you can or can't. You have to do it, because otherwise you'll die of fright.

People only do bad things because they can't imagine doing anything else.

The trouble with being a hero is that people expect you to be brave all the time, and I don't think even a hero can do that.

Sometimes you just have to do things, even if you're scared.

You can't let a thing like fear stop you from doing something that's right.

Sometimes things don't go as planned, and you have to be clever to make them work out anyway.

Sometimes it's easier to see things from outside. You see them better than people who are right in the middle of them.

You have to take what comes. You have to do what you can.