“Writing is not a profession, occupation or job; it is not a way of life: it is a comprehensive response to life.”

“Life is supposed to be fun. It's not a job or occupation. We're here only once and we should have a bit of a laugh.”

“Writers are asked, 'How could you know so much about [fill in the profession]?' The answer, if the writing satisfies, is that one makes it up. And the job, my job, as a dramatist, was not to write accurately, but to write persuasively. If and when I do my job well, subsequent cowboys, as it were, will talk like me.”

“What I like most about the stories I write is exploring other lives and professions. It's a way of having all the jobs I can't have now. I can also give myself skills I don't have.”

“Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.”

“People think that an expensive car--a stimulus--will lead to a response of happiness. If they have a great paying job--the proper stimulus, they believe--then their response will be happiness.But what if the opposite is true? What if happiness is the stimulus and the response is whatever life brings from that happiness?”