I always want to write something better than the last book.

among a coward's weapons, cynicism is the nastiest of all

When writers stop believing in their own stories, readers tend to sense it.

The goofiness of radicals thinking they have to dress in Guatemalan peasant clothes. The poor don't want you to look like them. They want you to dress in a suit and go get them food and water. Comma.

I tell beginning readers to read a lot and write a lot. If you want to write a book, find a subject that's really worth the time and effort you'll put in.

God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he's not the one who's supposed to divvy up the loot. That charge was laid upon us

I wrote a novel about the combat experiences I didn't have in Vietnam.