“Good novel are written by people who are not frightened.”
“Good novels are not written by orthodoxy-sniffers, nor by people who are conscience-stricken about their own orthodoxy. Good novels are written by people who are not frightened.”
“Good novels are not written, they're rewritten!”
“Good novels are not written, they are rewritten. Great novels are diamonds mined from layered rewrites.”
“Poorly written novels -- no matter how pious and edifying the behavior of the characters -- are not good in themselves and are therefore not really edifying.”