One of the most difficult things is the first paragraph. I have spent many months on a first paragraph, and once I get it, the rest just comes out very easily.

An artisan without memories, whose only dream was to die of fatigue in the oblivion and misery of his little gold fishes.

The anxiety of falling in love could not find repose except in bed.

And nevertheless, when they watched him leave the house, this man they themselves had urged to conquer the world, then they were the ones left with the terror that he would never return. That was their life. Love, if it existed, was something separate: another life.

Unfortunately many young writers are more concerned with fame than with their own work... It's much more important to write than to be written about.

Everyone has three lives: a public life, a private life, and a secret life.

In journalism just one fact that is false prejudices the entire work. In contrast, in fiction one single fact that is true gives legitimacy to the entire work. That's the only difference, and it lies in the commitment of the writer. A novelist can do anything he wants so long as he makes people believe in it.