Most serious writers refuse to make themselves available to the things that technology is doing. I've never been able to understand this sort of fear.

A writer does not own words any more than a painter owns colors. So lets dispense with this originality fetish… Look, listen and transcribe and forget about being original.

The Federal Narcotics Bureau does a grave disservice by disseminating a lot of misinformation. Most of what they say is such nonsense that I didn't believe them about addiction.

There isn't a feeling you can get on drugs that you can't get without drugs.

The face of evil is always the face of total need.

I read Mailer's Ancient Evenings with great interest because I was interested in . . . the seven souls structure, which was very helpful to me in Western Lands. And also in Place of Dead Roads. So that's Mailer.

I think all writers write for an audience. There is no such thing as writing for yourself.