On opening sentences: "If in the first chapter a hurricane is going to blow down an oak tree which falls through the kitchen roof, there's no need to first describe the kitchen."

On opening sentences: "If in the first chapter a hurricane is going to blow down an oak tree which falls through the kitchen roof, there's no need to first describe the kitchen."

I researched fiction writing for months before I taught my first class, much of it looking for strong techniques from bestselling authors.

I've never discovered the idea for my next novel while I was still working on the current novel. Other writers don't suffer this.

When I was hired by the University of Washington extension school to teach the one-year fiction writing course - 96 classroom hours - I quickly determined that I knew only about an hour's worth off the top of my head.

None of great sages of China preached the precept of love as a guideline for human behavior.

I need time to develop the idea into a plot before I talk about it.