“Novel writing is mostly triage (this now, that later) and obstinacy. Trying something, and when that doesn't work, trying something else. Welcoming clutter Surrendering a good idea for a better one. Knowing you won't find the finish line for a year or two, or five...”

“When you're writing you're trying to find out something which you don't know.”

“Better to keep trying until you find something that makes you happy rather than choose something now and hate your job for the next twenty years”

“We'll try this first. If it doesn't work, we'll try something else. That's life, isn't it?”

“‎"What does it mean if you tried to get somewhere, and you didn't?" "Like what?" "Like if you were trying to get somewhere, but you couldn't find it? Does that mean something bad?" "No. It doesn't mean something bad. It just means you have a second chance to do it. And two chances is always better than just one.”

“Works of art are meant to be lived with and loved, and if we try to understand them, we should try to understand them as we try to understand anyone—in order to know them better, not in order to know something else.”