Human beings are storytelling animals. That's what separates us from other creatures, not just having thumbs or using tools.

Never think of revising as fixing something that is wrong. That starts you off in a negative frame of mind. Rather think of it as an opportunity to improve something you already love.

It is the nature of stories to leave out far more than they include.

Writing the opening lines of a story is a bit like starting to ski at the steepest part of a hill. You must have all your skills under control from the first instant.

It is curious how believable I can be when I criticize myself, how unconvincing when I give myself praise.

Where do storytellers find the wisdom to discover their own stories? From no place more mysterious than their own hearts.

Description needs to slide into a story like a snake through grass - silently, almost invisibly, without calling attention to itself. It should enrich every story moment without slowing the action.

another word for talent is obsession.

when you are dealing with art, any kind of art, your pleasure in making it is what matters most.

I was an adult before I began to learn that there is a difference between a conversation and an argument.

my experience as a fiction writer tells me that the deeper I look into myself, the more universal is the experience I find there.

Jealousy is when their reflection in the mirror that is your progress, is attacked rather than appreciated, begrudged rather than understood.

The left ask people to believe that there is no conflict between feminism and the family.

No matter how poorly you play, there is always someone you can beat. No matter how well you play, there is always someone who can beat you.

People watch me when I get into these characters that I have in my head, so perhaps I should try acting. So I did.

Is it to be thought unreasonable that the people, in atonement for wrongs of a century, demand the vengeance of a single day?

Abortion happens because of economic circumstances.

We need to forget what we think we are, so that we can really become what we are.

I'm an inventor. I became interested in long-term trends because an invention has to make sense in the world in which it is finished, not the world in which it is started.

We are described into corners, and then we must describe ourselves out of corners.