Lord of the Rings, I think, is far and away the most brilliantly done stuff.

Sometimes you're not even sure which of your stories were failures. There are things I've written that I thought were complete catastrophes when I finished with them that have gone on to generate some of my most positive feedback.

A writer writes. Period. No matter if someone is buying your work or not.

I hate the crazy, neurotic characters beyond a certain point.

I had never really thought of myself as a writer; any writing I had done was just to give myself something to draw.

I realized the only thing I owed my audience was my own judgment and my own best effort.

You can read a dozen different textbooks or how-to manuals that will tell you the basic rules of what makes a story - a beginning, a middle, and an end.