It had been startling and disappointing to me to find out that story books had been written by people, that books were not natural wonders, coming of themselves like grass.

The first thing we see about a short story is its mystery. And in the best short stories, we return at the last to see mystery again

Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for the threads, how to follow, how to connect, find in the thick of the tangle what clear line persists.

All good writers speak in honest voices and tell the truth.

A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within.

Every story teaches you how to write that story but not the next story.

All experience is an enrichment rather than an impoverishment.