I can't say that I ever actually decided to become a writer. It kind of snuck up on me.

Probably careful plotting reflects my personality. I am meticulous by nature. I can't imagine speed-writing anything that happens to pop into my head.

I love sports, as all Bostonians seem to. I love books and movies, as all writers seem to.

The interior of a teenager’s mind is an endless war between Stupid and Clever.

Predisposition is not predestination.

An emotion is a thought, yes, an idea, but it is also a sensation, an ache in your body. Desire, love, hate, fear, repulsion - you feel these things in your muscle and bones, not just in your mind.

no one worth knowing can be quite known, no one worth possessing can be quite possessed

You know, being confident isn't the same as being right.

We move through time like a man in a rowboat, looking back even as we move forward.

Good stories are driven by conflict, tension, and high stakes.

You can write a great book and be ignored. Literary history is full of classics that were under-appreciated in their own time.

What ages you faster, suffering or experience?

An atheist who is a statist is just another theist.

Why can’t I get enough of you?” she asked between kisses.

I find sometimes that if you do too many takes, it starts to become meaningless to me. It is hard to sustain it for me. I don't want to do too many.

If you invite negativity in, you have to feed it and hang out with it. Best not to invite it in.

When domestic servants are treated as human beings it is not worth while to keep them.

But, good gracious, you've got to educate him first. You can't expect a boy to be vicious till he's been to a good school.

Practically anything you read or hear about racism, sexism, and homophobia is cant.

Our goal is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy, and just world, with clean air, water, soil and power – economically, equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed.

We need very much a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should incline to call him a scientist. [The first use of the word.]