Nothing Is Wasted

One of the nicest things about being a writer is that nothing ever gets wasted…. A writer who is serious and economical can store away small fragments of ideas and events and conversations, and even facial expressions and mannerisms, and use them all someday…. I believe that a story can be made out of any such small combination of circumstances, set up to best advantage and decorated with some use of the imagination.

SHIRLEY JACKSON