We need myths to get by. We need story; otherwise the tremendous randomness of experience overwhelms us. Story is what penetrates.

The narrative impulse is always with us; we couldn't imagine ourselves through a day without it.

Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges from it can be thought of as metafictional.

My disenchantment? Oh no, my dear, there are no disenchantments, merely progressions and styles of possession. To exist is to be spellbound.

I see no reason to stop writing. But the reason isn't always one of your own. The mind is not invulnerable, and it can lose some of its powers.

Some ways of naming a generation are fruitful and some are not. Postmodernism is not. It doesn't really say anything.

I learned my realism from guys like Kafka.

What we got is NOW, Huck, and now is forever. Until it ain't. So, you can't worry over nothing except putting off the end a your story as long as you can, and finishing it with a bang.

I'LL LET YOU FREE IN MY NEVERLAND

If you have a rifle, hanging on the wall in the first act, it should fire in the last act”.

More than most, I know the pain of surviving.

'Strictly' is a bit like scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup Final or sinking the final putt in the Ryder Cup - only a few people get the opportunity to do it, and they have got to be famous.

There aren't many roles that are interesting if you're a 40-year-old woman, unless you're Julia Roberts or Cate Blanchett.

Men have had the vanity to pretend that the whole creation was made for them, while in reality the whole creation does not suspect their existence.

Religion is preserved by wealth; knowledge by diligent practice; a king by conciliatory words; and a home by a dutiful housewife.

I'm not denying that he's a terrific guy, but I'm not sure he's terrific for me.

I would only hire someone to work directly for me if I was willing to work for that person.

I like a Blackpool breakfast, me - 20 ciggies and a pot of tea.