I sometimes seem to myself to wander around the world merely accumulating material for future nostalgias.

I simply seem to drift. But I sort of allow the drift, because it has a kind of check - it forces me to work harder at what I'm interested in.

It is exciting to write about the present once one gets beyond the trivia of the moment. As a time to live in, as a time to think about, the present is intriguing.

For a writer, obsession is a good substitute for self-discipline.

Think of many things. Never place your happiness in one person's power. Be just to yourself.

And the process of reading is such a private one. I once came into a room where a friend of mine was reading one of my books, and he clicked his tongue impatiently and shooed me off.

You get your inspiration - suggestions - wherever you have to, even from your mother.