I learned by reading an awful lot and by writing a half a million words of stuff nobody would do anything with except wrap old fish.

...Do you see things in black and white, or are there shades of gray for you?" "I hope there's gray...Black and white make things easier, but only if you don't want to think.

You count snouts,” Straha said. “Whichever side can persuade most snouts to join it prevails. It does not have to be clever. It does not have to be wise. It only needs to be popular.

I first tried a novel when I was 14. First finished one when I was 16. First started working on stuff that had a chance of being salable in my early 20s, then didn't write much fiction at all because I was in grad school.

I'm a social caterpillar. I am not a social butterfly

People you don't like are pigheaded. Your friends are stubborn, or hold to their purpose.

Fiction has to be plausible. All history has to do is happen.