A writer writes what other people only think.

In our not-yet-acknowledged secret garden lie the seeds of some of our best not-yet-written stories

The expert magician seeks to deceive the mind, rather than the eye.

The biggest difference between a writer and a would-be writer is their attitude toward rewriting. . . . Unwillingness to revise usually signals an amateur.

Our instinct as human beings is to provide answers, to ease tension. As writers our job is the opposite, to create tension and not dispel it immediately.

A lawyer's job is to manipulate the skeletons in other people's closets.

A reader's emotions can be sparked with few words. That's the power of dialogue.

To create tension, dialogue needs to be stretched out. That is, characters should not be immediately responsive.

Dialogue is a lean language in which every word counts.

Dialogue, contrary to popular view, is not a recording of actual speech; it is a semblance of speech, an invented language of exchanges that build in tempo or content toward climaxes.

Most of the time, tough, combative, adversarial dialogue is much more exciting than physical action.

What an abyss of ignorance hiding under the guise of love and care!

It is the character of the road you travel gives you wisdom not the length of the road!

You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a new result.

I like being tested. I get as scared as anyone. But the feeling of putting yourself on the line, betting on your talent and having it work; that's the most exhilarating feeling in the world.

I know the war in Iraq is controversial in the States, but for us in the Middle East it has made a great and significant impact.

I believe people have to be open to what's happening when they're alive.

It was from this experience came his oft-repeated belief that every man has but one destiny.

Today we know with certainty that segregation is dead. The only question remaining is how costly will be the funeral.

The most difficult of enterprises is to secure the cooperation of others in enterprises those others did not think of first.

I think it's ok to have wishes that conflict with each other - it's irrational to try to make them both come true, but not irrational simply to have them.