The last paragraph in which you tell what the story is about is almost always best left out.

A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.

In the theater, characters have to cut the umbilical cord from the writer and talk in their own voices

An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts upon himself.

People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly.

I look at everything. God gave me eyes and I look at women and men and subway excavations and moving pictures and the little flowers of the field. I casually inspect the universe.

Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but you enjoy it.