The imagination, like certain wild animals, will not breed in captivity.

It is bound to be a failure, every book is a failure, but I do know with some clarity what kind of book I want to write.

Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date.

Then the face of Big Brother faded away again and instead the three slogans of the Party stood out in bold capitals:  

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.

Never use the passive where you can use the active.

Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.