've had notebooks, but they are nondescript. All I care about is that they fit in my hand. I scribble down ideas. The problem is my best ideas come while I'm driving or showering.

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.

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.

You can train and work on the speed bag and heavy bag, but when you get in the ring, …It is a different story.

Who are we to wish for Paradise? It will be enough if Allah spares us his wrath.

Always dream big dreams. Big dreams attract big people.

We find our calling or it finds us, and it's a sin against the fates not to use your talent when you have it.

The caliphate will have been dismantled. It will still be a problem, but that has been our focus because that is the greatest existential threat to U.S. interests.

I think that... the age of just slapping songs into movies, that's done.

I am a theater girl, and a lot of theater girls dress however pleases them. I wear whatever looks good on me. I wear what I wear because I have been shopping at thrift stores since I was five.

That's a song about reaching deep inside yourself where you can completely be who you are.

For me, the distinction between documentaries and feature films is not so clear - my "documentaries" were largely scripted, rehearsed, and repeated, and have a lot of fantasy and concoction in them.