Man is a creature of hope and invention, both of which belie the idea that things cannot be changed.

The smaller the mind, the greater the ego.

Courage is being the only only one who knows how terrified you are.

Whenever somebody comes up with a good idea, there's somebody else who has never had a good idea in his life who stands up and says, "Oh, you can't do that..."

You learn to write the same way you learn to play golf... You do it, and keep doing it until you get it right. A lot of people think something mystical happens to you, that maybe the muse kisses you on the ear. But writing isn’t divinely inspired – it’s hard work.

There is an old saying: In history nothing is true but the names and dates. In fiction everything is true but the names and dates. The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense.

In the Soviet Union it was illegal to take a photograph of a train station. Look what happened to them. They tried to classify everything.