O. Henry
O. Henry
William Sydney Porter, known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth11 September 1862
CityGreensboro, NC
CountryUnited States of America
ambition dark sunshine
It gives men courage and ambition and the nerve for anything. It has the colour of gold, is clear as a glass and shines after dark as if the sunshine were still in it.
bravery advice coward
My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery for an occasion when it may be of some benefit to you.
fog nashville giving
Take of London fog 30 parts; malaria 10 parts, gas leaks 20 parts, dewdrops gathered in a brickyard at sunrise 25 parts; odor of honeysuckle 15 parts. Mix. The mixture will give you an approximate conception of a Nashville drizzle.
dust gold broadway
Broadway - the great sluice that washes out the dust of the gold-mines of Gotham.
journey soul world
The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is making ready to go on its mysterious, far journey.
medicine funeral patient
Whenever my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession I subtract 50 per cent from the curative power of medicines.
holiday earth dresses
A holiday in a new dress—can earth offer anything more enchanting?
bores-you stories bills
A story with a moral appended is like the bill of a mosquito. It bores you, and then injects a stinging drop to irritate your conscience.
rude rudeness should
Except in streetcars one should never be unnecessarily rude to a lady.
christmas wise art
The magi, as you know, were wise men wonderfully wise men who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents.
time art burglars
A burglar who respects his art always takes his time before taking anything else.
baseball running moving
[A]ll of life, as we know it, moves in little, unavailing circles. More justly than to anything else, it can be likened to the game of baseball. Crack! we hit the ball, and away we go. If we earn a run (in life we call it success) we get back to the home plate and sit upon a bench. If we are thrown out, we walk back to the home plate -- and sit upon a bench.
air
She had become so thoroughly annealed into his life that she was like the air he breathed--necessary but scarcely noticed.
writing giving secret
I'll give you the whole secret to short story writing. Here it is. Rule 1: Write stories that please yourself. There is no Rule 2.