At times ... one is downright thankful for the self-absorption of other people.

Heroics are not easily had for the young in our times. Perhaps that is why they go to such extremes to create their own dangers.

Much of the activity we think of as writing is, actually, getting ready to write.

I believe that with enough practice and good faith, you can learn to recognize when the work is achieved.

You're supposed to get tired planting bulbs. But it's an agreeable tiredness.

I'm always aware that I risk being taken for a neurasthenic prima donna when I explain to someone who wants 'just a little' of my time that five minutes of the wrong kind of distraction can ruin a working day.

The characters that I create are parts of myself and I send them on little missions to find out what I don’t know yet.