Every lizard lies on its belly, so we cannot tell which has a belly-ache

Once you have really done all you can, then you can show it to people. But I find this is increasingly not the case with the younger people. They do a first draft and want somebody to finish it off for them with good advice.

As our fathers said, you can tell a ripe corn by its look.

Once a novel gets going and I know it is viable, I don't then worry about plot or themes. These things will come in almost automatically because the characters are now pulling the story.

There is no story that is not true, [...] The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.

It is not quite true to say that I am not an advocate of writing in African languages. What I think is, one has to think about what is practicable.

People say that if you find water rising up to your ankle, that's the time to do something about it, not when it's around your neck.