I had stopped writing plays set in villages because they were not relevant to my experiences and I knew my English classmates wouldn't appreciate them.

I don't have much of an imagination, but I have a mind bank of details, which I play with. It's how I daydream, so writing like that is natural for me.

What works for me is that I read widely and stay focused on my writing. I'm no longer concerned about what happens in the literary marketplace. It is distracting and can lead to discontent.

I never wanted to be a writer; I just had stories I needed to tell.

I never wanted to be a writer; I just had stories I wanted to share so I learnt how to write and kept going. If I could sing or paint, I would.

I don't remember being a keen reader, but apparently I was. My aunt told me that whenever I was teased for reading, I would say, "To each his own."

People don’t fear the wind until it fells a tree. Then, they say it’s too much.

I don't have a schedule, but I can write for hours non-stop. If I'm drafting a book, I try and do a chapter a day. I dislike first drafts. Revision is a lot more fun, but it takes years.

I have to say that writing about my writing process is more daunting than writing non-fiction.

I read Macbeth as a secondary student in Nigeria and it was like an African play to me. It had all the right elements - witches, kings and assassinations.

At some point, practicality requires that you reach out to people in the business. You have to take care of business if you value your work.

For who would dare to assert that eternal happiness can compensate for a single moment's human suffering

You will never be tougher than you are now. Children are the toughest creatures on the planet. They endure.

...as he discovered in the course of his uncountable years that a lie is more comfortable than doubt, more useful than love, more lasting than truth...

Silence is the unbearable repartee.

I hate being ignored.

Yesterday's news feeds our fear that our neighbours are more likely than not to be bad eggs: benefit fraudsters, bogus asylum seekers, paedophiles or jihadist terrorists.

When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.

True glory strikes root, and even extends itself; all false pretensions fall as do flowers, nor can any feigned thing be lasting.

To walk with nature as a poet is the necessary condition of a perfect artist.

Concentrated thoughts produce desired results.