I've quit writing screenplay [adaptations]. It's too much work. I don't look at writing a novel as work, because I only have to please myself. I have a good time sitting here by myself, thinking up situations and characters, getting them to talk - it's so satisfying. But screenwriting's different. You might think you're writing for yourself, but there are too many other people to please.

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

To me, a book is a book, an electronic device is not, and love of books was the reason I started writing.

I'm not going to write for posterity. I'm going to write to make a buck.

Never open a book with weather. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways to describe ice and snow than an Eskimo, you can do all the weather reporting you want.

I never see my bad guys as simply bad. They want pretty much the same thing that you and I want: they want to be happy.

I don't judge in my books. I don't have to have the antagonist get shot or the protagonist win. It's just how it comes out. I'm just telling a story.