My most important rule is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue.

I get letters. I get several a week, I think. A lot of people want a picture, a lot of people just want an autograph.

What do you tell a man with two black eyes? Nothing, he's already been told twice.

Don't worry about what your mother thinks of your language.

I don't want the reader to be aware of me as the writer.

Bad guys are not bad guys twenty-four hours a day.