In a novel, it's hard to keep track of everybody

Writing is like a contact sport, like football. Why do kids play football? They can get hurt on any play, can't they? Yet they can't wait until Saturday comes around so they can play on the high school team, or the college team, and get smashed around. Writing is like that. You can get hurt, but you enjoy it!

In Europe, a writer is supposed to improve up until he's about 75

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

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

You have to expect the raps when you have achieved popularity as a writer

When I started out in the early 1930s, there were a great many magazines that published short stories. Unfortunately, the short-story market has dwindled to almost nothing.