It's a tough job to tell a story when the audience already knows the ending, and the ending is bleak.

Being a writer was never a choice, it was an irresistible compulsion.

Even if you only want to write science fiction, you should also read mysteries, poetry, mainstream literature, history, biography, philosophy, and science.

That's why editors and publishers will never be obsolete: a reader wants someone with taste and authority to point them in the direction of the good stuff, and to keep the awful stuff away from their door.

How long it takes to write a book depends on its length.

I went to college, though I didn't take many writing courses.

Working within the limitations of the shared world generally made the writing easier, because I didn't have to invent any of the characters or background, which is usually the hardest part.