As a kid, I didn't read a great deal of fiction, and I've forgotten most of what I did read.

I want my name to mean me.

I think one of the things you have to learn if you're going to create believable characters is never to make generalizations about groups of people.

And it's best if you know a good thing is going to happen, like an eclipse or getting a microscope for Christmas. And it's bad if you know a bad thing is going to happen, like having a filling or going to France. But I think it is worst if you don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing which is going to happen.

Well, we're meant to be writing stories today.

At twenty life was like wrestling an octopus. Every moment mattered. At thirty it was a walk in the country. Most of the time your mind was somewhere else. By the time you got to seventy, it was probably like watching snooker on the telly.

Find the extraordinary inside the ordinary.