...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.
Harry TurtledoveYou can write better about a place you've seen for yourself. You don't have to have been there - I've sure written about places I've never seen - but it does help.
Harry TurtledoveI 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.
Harry TurtledoveI do first draft in longhand, which saves a lot of rewriting. I try to get a certain amount done each day. Don't always, but I try. Then I clean up in the rewrites.
Harry Turtledove