I don’t think writers compete, I think they’re all doing separate things in their own style.

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can't allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.

At the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much at the start takes the pleasure out of discovering what the book is about.

Try not to write the parts that people skip.

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.

Really, when I write a book I'm the only one I have to please. That's the beauty of writing a book instead of a screenplay.

Avoid prologues: they can be ­annoying, especially a prologue ­following an introduction that comes after a foreword.