“A piece of writing is like a piece of magic. You create something out of nothing.”

“nothing is accomplished by writing a piece of musicnothing is accomplished by hearing a piece of musicnothing is accomplished by playing a piece of musicour ears are now in excellent condition.”

“Loves not cake. You don't carve it into pieces 'till there's nothing left. It's more like magic pudding - the more you use of it, the more it grows.”

“To do magic, to do great magic, he has to know himself as a piece of the universe.A piece of the universe?A little piece that has all the rest of it in it. Everything outside of him is also inside of him.”

“Writing a novel is like pottery. Your initial draft of your story is like a lump of clay. Editing is like shaping that piece of clay into something interesting and beautiful.”

“You have to create a form from the life that exists, not the other way around. If it comes out in these little pieces, that's what it is.”