An actor entering through the door, you've got nothing. But if he enters through the window, you've got a situation.

You're as good as the best thing you've ever done.

The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer.

Develop a clean line of action for your leading character

If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you.

Ever notice how these European trains always smell of eau de cologne and hard boiled eggs?

The forest of Compiegne. Look at it. Like a kind grandmother dozing in her rocking chair. Old trees practicing curtsies in the wind because they still think Louis XIV is king.