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

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.

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.

Voice is one of the most elusive qualities in any story. We recognize it when we hear it, but it's hard consciously to create an authentic voice. Somehow voice seems to be the natural manifestation of all the narrative decisions we've made so far. We discover it more than we fabricate it.

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

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

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