I wanted my life to start - but in those rare moments when it seemed like something might actually change, panic shot through me.

Perhaps this is how you know you're doing the thing you're intended to: No matter how slow or how slight your progress, you never feel that it's a waste of time.

Probably I, like a lot of people, became a writer in imitation of or in homage to the books I enjoyed. When you're so captivated by something, you think, could I do that? Hmm, let me try

We all make mistakes, don't we? But if you can't forgive yourself, you'll always be an exile in your own life.

People who think my books are autobiographical, which they're not, credit me with having a much better memory than I do. I do, however, have a powerful imagination

I don't really have special rituals, but I don't try to write fiction unless I have a minimum of a few hours. For me, it takes a while to settle into a mode where I'm truly concentrating

We have to make mistakes, its how we learn compassion for others

I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely.

Obviously the bar is much higher now for a behavior to be scandalous. Social media has really changed the way people live. It's not a new impulse; it's just being enacted in a new way.

I don't think it's shameful to admit that some days your time can be better spent reading than writing.

I have this theory that the likeability question comes up so much more with female characters created by female authors than it does with male characters and male authors

I've found myself moved by letters and diaries in archives as well as trashy, summer blockbusters. It's possible to make a connection with any kind of writing - as long as the writing is good.

My parents have a strong work ethic, but their attitude to life, their philosophy, is: 'whatever makes you happy.'

Most of the time, we keep looking outside and feeling sad about what others have. Those are mere excuses.

Tribe cats are named after the first thing their mother sees, but I thing this would lead to a lot of kits being named 'wall of cave', 'side of cave' and 'floor of cave

I love so and so, how can I let go of them? You don't have to. You do whatever you chose. What you think, you become. Your thoughts are strongly affected by those you are emotionally open to.

A selfish basis would not serve the purpose of taking a man higher and higher along the paths of evolution.

Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms.

... fire fast when it's not working. It's better for the company, it's also better for the employee.

If we live in a world where information drives what we do, the information we get becomes the most important thing. The person who chooses that information has power.

Bill Hicks wasn't just a comic, he was a crusader against humanity's relentless capacity to underachieve