Where do storytellers find the wisdom to discover their own stories? From no place more mysterious than their own hearts.

when you are dealing with art, any kind of art, your pleasure in making it is what matters most.

It is curious how believable I can be when I criticize myself, how unconvincing when I give myself praise.

Description needs to slide into a story like a snake through grass - silently, almost invisibly, without calling attention to itself. It should enrich every story moment without slowing the action.

I was an adult before I began to learn that there is a difference between a conversation and an argument.

my experience as a fiction writer tells me that the deeper I look into myself, the more universal is the experience I find there.

Human beings are storytelling animals. That's what separates us from other creatures, not just having thumbs or using tools.