“That's how a thing starts out real then ends up just an idea.”

“To me, all creativity is magic. Ideas start out in the empty void of your head - and they end up as a material thing, like a book you can hold in your hand. That is the magical process. It's an alchemical thing. Yes, we do get the gold out of it but that's not the most important thing. It's the work itself.”

“That's how the scientists discover new science. They start out with a hypothesis--an idea--and then others believe enough in the idea that they make it true. You see?”

“It's not how you start out, it's where you end up.”

“And maybe that's just what happens; you start out wanting to change the world through language, and end up thinking it's enough to tell a few good jokes.”

“We know how it ends practically before it starts. That's why stories appeal to us. They give us the clarity and simplicity our real lives lack.”