History is too important to be left to the historians.

First comes an idea. Then, characters begin to evolve out of the landscape of that idea. And then, finally, characters dominate: plot is simply a function of what these people might do or be. Everything has to flow from their personalities; otherwise it will not be emotionally engaging, or plausible.

It is perseverance, and not genius that takes a man to the top. Rome is full of unrecognized geniuses. Only perseverance enables you to move forward in the world.

If you go back, 'The Great Gatsby' would be a portrait of the rich and fortune made by business.

It is perfectly legitimate to write novels which are essentially prose poems, but in the end, I think, a novel is like a car, and if you buy a car and grow flowers in it, you're forgetting that the car is designed to take you somewhere else.

Does a name stick because it suits a man or does the man, unconsciously, evolve into his name?

Everyone thinks politics will just go on the way it is. I don't agree.