It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.

I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write the book straight through from beginning to end. By following time's arrow I keep myself sane.

The kernel, the soul - let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances - is plagiarism.

I'm learning to hate the sound of my own voice.

I've never related to the work geek at all-it sounds much more horrible than nerd. Like a freak biting a chicken's head off in a sideshow.

You could grow up in the city where history was made and still miss it all.

I plan less and less. It's a great benefit of writing lots, that you get good at holding long narratives in your head like a virtual space.