If work was a good thing, the rich would have it all and not let you do it.

I do have fun writing, and a long time ago, I told myself, 'You got to have fun at this, or it'll drive you nuts.'

Try not to write the parts that people skip.

Using adverbs is a mortal sin.

I started out of course with Hemingway when I learned how to write. Until I realized Hemingway doesn't have a sense of humor. He never has anything funny in his stories.

Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue... I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated" and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.

The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in.