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

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.

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.

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

Whole new theories of money were growing here like mushrooms: in the dark and based on bullshit.

I dont believe in an eye for an eye, I believe in two eyes for an eye

The best friends you will ever have are the ones who don't make you feel like you owe them a damn thing.

Man is something that shall be overcome.... Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman -- a rope over an abyss... What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end.

Heaven... I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak.

I don't think you need to run down someone's reputation in order to run for the office of president.

Enjoy the moment and appreciate what you have.

I've always had an obligation to creation, above all.

Lest when I am gone you may be at a loss for an epitaph for me, let me give you one - He Fed Fevers.

You're revealing something about yourself in a more exaggerated, more fleshed-out way, and it awakens something in you that maybe you didn't know you had.