If you get the characters right you've done sometimes nearly half the work. I sometimes find I get the characters right then the characters will often help me write the book - not what they look like that's not very important - what people look like is not about their character. You have to describe the shape they leave in the world, how they react to things, what effect they have on people and you do that by telling their story.

Do you think there’s anything to eat in this forest?” “Yes,” said the wizard bitterly, “us.

You were safe on a troll. Anyone wanting to mug a troll would have to use a building on a stick.

If you kept changing the way people saw the world, you ended up changing the way you saw yourself.

The universe danced towards life. Life was a remarkably common commodity. Anything sufficiently complicated seemed to get cut in for some, in the same way that anything massive enough got a generous helping of gravity. The universe had a definite tendency towards awareness. This suggested a certain subtle cruelty woven into the very fabric of space-time.

Carpe Jugulum," read Agnes aloud. "That's... well, Carpe Diem is 'Sieze the Day,' so this means-" "Go for the throat

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.