The best advice on writing I've ever received is to take it seriously, because to do it well is all-consuming.

He didn't like very many people any more, or very many things either. He preferred not to be this way, but there it was, he was like that. His cynicism, a veteran's cynicism, was a thing that disturbed him all the time.

What some people interpret as brooding melancholy is serenity. I don't feel required to grasp all the time.

Writers shouldn’t underestimate the difficulty of what they’re doing, and they should treat it with great seriousness. You’re doing something that really matters, you’re telling stories that have an impact on other people and on the culture. You should tell the best stories you can possibly tell and put everything you’ve got into it.

My book is traditional. It runs counter to the post-modern spirit.

At one level you're condemned to the voice you have. But within those confines, you have a certain amount of freedom to range among your possible voices.

Post-modernism is dead because it didn't address human needs.