He did it (listened) as the world's most charming and magnetic people do, always asking the right question at the right time, never fidgeting or taking his eyes from the speaker's face, making the other guy feel like the most knowledgeable, brilliant, and intellectually savvy person on the planet.

The first draft of a book—even a long one—should take no more than three months, the length of a season.

...my basic belief about the making of stories is that they pretty much make themselves.

Kill you all!" The clown was laughing and screaming. "Try to stop me and I'll kill you all! Drive you crazy and then kill you all! You can't stop me!

When the reader hears strong echoes of his or her own life and beliefs, he or she is apt to become more invested in the story.

Kindle, isn’t it?” the waitress asked. “I got one for Christmas, and I love it. I’m reading my way through all of Jodi Picoult’s books.” “Oh, probably not all of them,” Wesley said. “Huh? Why not?” “She’s probably got another one done already. That’s all I meant.” “And James Patterson’s probably written one since he got up this morning!” she said, and went off chortling.

Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in.