You no longer have much in the way of knowing what to do in a big, epic novel about the future, because nobody knows what the hell is going to happen.

I think it takes about a million words to make a writer. I mean that you're going to throw away.

Freedom is not free. It is bought at a high price. It can be squandered cheaply.

And that's another piece of advice I'll give junior writers; when you get to the point where they take you to lunch, let the editor suggest where to go.

The hard part of writing at all is sitting your ass down in a chair and writing it. There's always something better to do, like I've got an interview, sharpening the pencils, trimming the roses. There's always something better to do. Going to a writer's club?

In any ethical situation, the thing you want least to do is probably the right action.

Everything takes longer and costs more.