A man I know who writes and aspires to be a novelist does very little reading, and he's not that successful. But I think it's because he's like the kid who wants to be a ballplayer and never goes to the ballpark or tries to hit a ball. So I'd say reading is the most important thing that I do, besides the actual writing. I'm always asking as I read, "How did the writer do this? Why do I suddenly have tears in my eyes? Why am I crying?"
Robert CormierThere is very little that is accidental in my work. I believe in serendipity for developments of plot, but the actual writing is arrived at by very hard work. The joy of writing doesn't mean that you don't get the backaches and headaches and the days when it's not coming.
Robert CormierI don't think I began to be a professional writer until I learned my weaknesses and what I couldn't do. This forced me to compensate.
Robert CormierWe often think that tragedies happen because of great earthquakes in people's lives. I think they sometimes occur because of small things that become obsessive to a particular person.
Robert CormierI'm not a reader of young adult fiction for the simple reason that these novelists are writing for adolescents, so they are not writing for me.
Robert Cormier