You lack the requisite spine and testicular fortitude to study under me.

I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a writer is to follow your initial [writing] plan too stringently. A story needs room to grow and evolve.

Each book needs a good beginning and a good ending. People get pissed off when you don't close things off properly at the end.

For most practical purposes Tarbean had two pieces: Waterside and Hillside. Waterside is where people are poor. That makes them beggars, thieves, and whores. Hillside is where people are rich. That makes them solicitors, politicians, and courtesans.

When left to its own devices it tends to make me look as if I’ve been set afire.

It gets tiresome being spoken to as if you are a child, even if you happen to be one.

With slow care rather than stealth we must approach the subject of a certain woman. Her wildness is of such degree, I fear approaching her too quickly even in a story. Should I move recklessly, I might startle even the idea of her into sudden flight.