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.

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

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.

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.

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