The first thing that distinguishes a writer is that he is most alive when alone.

Deciding to write a novel about something - as opposed to finding you are writing a novel around something - sounds to me like a good evocation of writer's block.

I would say I'm an ironist not a satirist. All you do is you take existing tendencies and crank them up, just turn up the volume dial. Which is a technique of science fiction, apart from anything else.

Style isn't something added on; it's intrinsic to the perceptions and the way you see life.

Don't dumb down; always write for your top five percent of readers.

He didn't want to please his readers. He wanted to stretch them until they twanged.

Closure is a greasy little word which, moreover, describes a nonexistent condition. The truth, Venus, is that nobody gets over anything.