I almost always urge people to write in the first person. ... Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.

Writing is a craft not an art.

Nobody told all the new e-mail writers that the essence of writing is rewriting. Just because they are writing with ease and enjoyment doesn't mean they are writing well.

Not every oak has to be gnarled, every detective hard-bitten. The adjective that exists solely as a decoration is a self-indulgence for the writer and an obstacle for the reader.

There's not much to be said about the period except that most writers don't reach it soon enough.

Write about small, self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. If you remember them, it's because they contain a larger truth that your readers will recognize in their own lives. Think small and you'll wind up finding the big themes in your family saga.

Ultimately the product that any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she is.