“As much as I like it when a book I'm writing speeds along, the downside can be that an author becomes too eager to finish and rushes the end. The end is even more important than the first page, and...”

“Before I start a project, I always ask myself the following question. Why is this book worth a year of my life? There needs to be something about the theme, the technique, or the research that make...”

“there are no inferior types of fiction, only inferior practitionersof them”

“On every page, confidence fights with self-doubt. Every sentence is an act of faith. Why would anybody want to do it?”

“Don't give in to doubt. Never be discouraged if your first draft isn't what you thought it would be. Given skill and a story that compels you, muster your determination and make what's on the page ...”

“So they spread the paintings on the lawn, and the boy explained each of them. "This is the school, and this is the playground, and these are my friends." He stared at the paintings for a long time ...”

“To withhold words is power. But to share our words with others, openly and honestly, is also power.”

“...if you want your own distinctive voice, you first have to become someone...”

“I long for the raised voice, the howl of rage or love.”

“Writers write while dreamers procastinate. ”

“I wasn't born to cook or clean,but to read and write,if you don't like me the way I am,then go fly a kite.”

“For me, I think it was a little easier to write thinking that nobody was listening.”

“If you want to be a writer-stop talking about it and sit down and write!”

“You can write nothing of value unless you give yourself wholly to the the theme -- and when you so give yourself -- you lose appetite ans sleep -- it cannot be helped --”

“If you're a writer, the answer to everything is yes.”