It's not enough simply to record the way people actually talk. The dialogue must be concentrated, shaped, dramatically moving, in a way that real-life conversation seldom is.

The simplest tool of the writer is repetition. . . . The simplest tool of the writer is repetition.

But a writing project begins not just in doubt but also in faith-that if your passion is genuine, if you have mastered the elements of your craft, in the act of writing you will learn the rest of what you need to know in order to do justice to your subject.

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

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

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.

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