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

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

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

I don't get in a position to be frightened. I don't do anything dangerous, and I always pay my bills.

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.

Never use the words 'suddenly' or 'all hell broke loose.'

I don't have any of the modern stuff. I don't have e-mail. I don't have a computer!