Angry contradiction of the patriarch is not creativity; it's delinquency calling for attention. Difference for the sake of difference is as empty an achievement as slavishly following the commercial imperative.

We rarely know where we are going; writing is a discovery.

Writing is a marathon, not a sprint.

No matter our talent, we all know in the midnight of our souls that 90 percent of what we do is less than our best.

The principle of Creative Limitations calls for freedom within a circle of obstacles and restricted boundaries. Talent is like a muscle: without something to push against, it atrophies. So we deliberately put obstacles in our path - barriers that will inspire us. We disciple ourselves as to what to do, while we're boundless as to how to do it.

Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.

The material of literary talent is words; the material of story talent is life itself.