Being comfortable isn't the way to learn to expand your abilities.

I had been writing fiction since I was in eighth grade, because I loved it.

I don't think the problem is that people don't read enough mystery books, but that people don't read.

It's important, I think, for a writer of fiction to maintain an awareness of the pace and shape of the book as he's writing it. That is, he should be making an object, not chattering.

Being comfortable isn't the way to learn to expand your abilities.

Contrary to what many writers imply about the process, nobody forces a writer to sell his work to the film industry.

I do want to write about Jane Whitefield again, but only when I have a good enough idea - something I've figured out about her that's news and that's worth a reader's time.