Belief needs something terrible to make it work, I find--blood, nails, a bit of anguish.

People do not change, they are merely revealed.

Only bad writers think that their work is really good.

Write whatever way you like. Fiction is made of words on a page; reality is made of something else. It doesn't matter how "real" your story is, or how "made up": what matters is its necessity.

God, I hate my family, these people I never chose to love, but love all the same.

We do not always like the people we love- we do not always have that choice.

I have no place left to live but in my own heart.

The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful, typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page.

I’m really lucky with the people around me. They know me, so they don’t confuse the issues really. They know what a book is and they know who I am and they know the difference between the two.

There are men who would do anything, asleep, and I'm not sure what stops them when they wake. I do not know how they draw the line.

Description is hard. Remember that all description is an opinion about the world. Find a place to stand.

Are you insinuatin' that my daughter is a liar?""Oh, no, not at all. I'm saying your daughter is a liar. Surely you can appreciate the difference.

Remember to forget what lies behind, reach and press forward.

I am a religious man! The only thing is, that in my religion, I am the God!

The greatest sin you could commit is immortality, because it means that you’ll eventually commit all else.

Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.

I'm swanning round the world looking at the most fabulously interesting things. Such good fortune.

What are you? A man with a rope? Ha-ha.

My spirit had been broken a bit over the years by my having to work on films I didn't love. Hollywood's a surreal place, and it really is an assault on your spirit.

I find I use the Internet more and more. It's just an invaluable tool. I do most of my research on the Net now - and certainly do the bulk of my communicating through email.

I love humans; always seeing patterns in things that aren’t there.