The mysteries of the female sex! We men can never hope to fathom your depths, but only try not to drown in them.

Writing allows for fictitious voices - the voices of persons unlike myself - that might otherwise be muted.

The greatest works of literature seem to embody both "art" and "morality".

People have libraries at home, they have bookshelves, they have CDs. And they sort of try, people try to bring great artists into their lives, into their physical houses and sort of live with portions of them. But they're not really deeply engaging with them.

The secret of being a writer: not to expect others to value what you've done as you value it. Not to expect anyone else to perceive in it the emotions you have invested in it. Once this is understood, all will be well.

It makes me angry sometimes, it's a visceral thing--how you come to despise your own words in your ears not because they aren't genuine, but because they are; because you've said them so many times, your 'principles,' your 'ideals'--and so damned little in the world has changed because of them.

Before you can write a novel you have to have a number of ideas that come together. One idea is not enough.