Every time I write a nonfiction book I get sued.

One shouldn't say yes in desperation to the first publisher who approaches. New authors especially should wait and weigh their deal and only agree when they are certain they have landed a good offer.

I think that fiction writers can write about anyone. If you are writing a character, and the only thing they are to you is their otherness, then you haven't written a character.

I really liked writing rhyming poems and plays.

I've heard some writers say things like, 'Well, I'm a professional writer. I only start books I know I can finish.' I look at it maybe the other way: I only want to write books I'm not sure I can...

My writing ability all stems from the blues.

I found the structure of writing a screenplay harder than the structure of writing an essay. But it was definitely challenging to force myself to sit and write. I'm not used to having to force myself...

I stopped writing fiction the moment I started writing songs, and I miss it.

You have to be very brave in that first writing session.

You have to learn how to write each book.

When I'm writing, I won't know whodunnit until maybe two thirds of the way through. Until then, I know as little as my detective. I just make it up as I go along. It's nerve-wracking, actually. You'll...

If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water.

When I write, I can shake off all my cares.

When I started writing, I did have some idealised notion of my dad as a writer. But I have less and less of a literary rivalry with him as I've gone on. I certainly don't feel I need his approval,...

I know I'm not a wordsmith. And I don't write poetry. Sometimes I think I should, because it's really helpful. But I always wanted to write novels.

I'm good at coming up with wacky characters and funny dialogue.

For a writer, capturing that elusive Christmas morning magic can be deeply problematic.

The obscurity of a writer is generally in proportion to his incapacity.

You take a universal concept, something that has been done a million times (because everything has been done a million times), and add a fresh twist to it. Something no one saw coming. But mostly...

I do a lot of rewriting. It's very painful.

If you don't know what those old occupations were, how they were done, and how they interacted with the passersby, you're not prepared to write a historical novel. A historical figure doesn't pass...

The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean.

People wonder why you choose certain subjects to write about. The truth is: you don't really. They choose you

Let your characters lead when you're dancing together.

Live first, write second.

You are not responsible for the reader, you're only responsible for what you are writing.

Writing the story of their own life allows the author to parse their story into examinable segments while continuing to engage in the act of communion and creation.

True authors don't write for fame or to make a name or money, they write to make impact

One of my favourite things about being an author is waking up knowing that there are worlds just waiting to be discovered and created.

I realised early on that being an author is a hugely misunderstood job.