Letter from Anton Chekhov to Dmitry Grigorovich, Moscow, October 9, 1888:
I have not yet acquired a political, religious, or philosophical worldview; I change my views every day and consequently have to confine myself to describing how my protagonists love, marry, breed, die, and talk.
Letter from Anton Chekhov to Alexander Chekhov, Moscow, May 19, 1886:
There is no need to chase after a crowd of characters. Only two should be at the center of gravity: he and she.
Letter from Anton Chekhov to Alexei Suvorin, Melikhovo, August 24, 1893:
“Nevertheless” and “insofar as” are both bureaucratic expressions. I read them and I spit. The new generation writes in an especially shabby language. Unclear, cold, and inelegant; those sons of bitches write as though they are already dead and lying in the grave.
Love this man. He is simplistic, tender, generous and objective. And has the best advice for a writer.