A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.

There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.

Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter.  In 1932 at the age of 44, he was laid off from his business executive position because of the Great Depression’s economic downturn.  This opened a door for his next career move as he pursued writing detective fiction novels.