Wit is the most dangerous talent you can possess. It must be guarded with great discretion and good-nature, otherwise it will create you many enemies.

I’ve always thought a novelist only has one character and that is himself or herself.

What a writer brings to any story is an attitude

The narrative was too constricted; it was like a fetus strangling on its own umbilical cord.

Writing is manual labor of the mind: a job, like laying pipe.

Violence is the way stupid people try to level the playing field.

The world is divided up into two kinds of people - those who look at their body waste in the toilet bowl, and those who don't.

I started all over again on page 1, circling the 262 pages like a vulture looking for live flesh to scavenge.

The professional guts a book through - in full knowledge that what he is doing is not very good. Not to work is to exhibit a failure of nerve.

Stress is when you're 29 years old, playing for Rochdale, with an expiring contract and a mortgage to pay.

There are two types of people ... the scrutinizers and the scrutinized

Every act of kindness is another step up Heaven’s stairway.

It's like smoking compost through a raccoon.

The end of all knowledge should be service to others.

Fortunately analysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts. Life itself still remains a very effective therapist.

It's fun to play happy people.

I can't get enough adventure," Magnus said lightly. "And adventure cannot get enough of me.

Torturous advances won over generations can be lost by a single stroke of a myopic president's pen or a vainglorious general's sword.

The best kind of parent you can be is to lead by example.

Don't be embarrassed by your achievements. Being an overarchiever is nothing despicable. It is only admirable. Never lower your standards.

When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons.