It's best to have your tools with you. If you don't, you're apt to find something you didn't expect and get discouraged.

The writer's original perception of a character or characters may be as erroneous as the reader's.

Not writing would be like going the rest of your life without having dreams.

A little arrogance (or even a lot) isn't such a bad thing, although your mother undoubtedly told you different. Mine did. "Pride goeth before a fall, Stephen", she said... and then I found out - right around the age that is 19 x 2 - that eventually you fall down, anyway.

After the 9/11 apocalypse happened in New York City, people, particularly New Yorkers, who breathed in the ash, or saw the results of that, have a tendency to keep seeing echoes and having flashbacks to it.

I always drank, from when it was legal for me to drink. And there was never a time for me when the goal wasn't to get as hammered as I could possibly afford to. I never understood social drinking, that's always seemed to me like kissing your sister.

Speaking personally, you can have my gun, but you'll take my book when you pry my cold, dead fingers off of the binding.