The only way to write a novel is to proceed as if you had all the time in the world.

You have to roll up your sleeves and be a stonecutter before you can become a sculptor - command of craft always precedes art: apprentice, journeyman, master.

You will not read voice on the page; you will hear it in your head.

Voice really depends on the answer to the question, Who is telling this story? . . . That will color your diction-and determine your metaphors, your sensibility.

We create an interior 'movie' in the reader's head through words on the page.

Storytelling is the art of unfolding knowledge in a way that makes each piece contribute to a larger truth.

For the big stuff to work credibly, you've got to get the little stuff absolutely right.