We have in my country (Russia) a quotation: "It is impossible to make out of apology a fur coat.

How can we be strangers if we both believe in God?

Writers who can't invent stories often substitute style for narrative. They remind me of the painter who couldn't paint people, so he painted chairs.

You write by sitting down and writing. There's no particular time or place—you suit yourself, your nature. How one works, assuming he's disciplined, doesn't matter.

A writer has to surprise himself to be worth reading.

For misery don't blame God. He gives the food but we cook it.

The short story packs a self in a few pages predicating a lifetime