Knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are

Remember that you don't write a story because you have an idea but because you have a believable character.

In my travels I am often asked if college stifles young writers. In my opinion, it doesn't stifle them enough.

If there were no hell, we would be like the animals. No hell, no dignity.

Conviction without experience makes for harshness.

It is popular to believe that in order to see clearly one must believe nothing. This may work well enough if you are observing cells under a microscope. It will not work if you are writing fiction. For the fiction writer, to believe nothing is to see nothing.

I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying where the eyes, nose, and mouth are.