“When you are writing a novel, you aren't making it up. The story is already there. You just have to find it.”

“You must understand that when you are writing a novel you are not making anything up.”

“I find writing novels a challenge, writing stories a joy. If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.”

“You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing.”

“Writing novels is much the same. You gather up bones and make your gate, but no matter how wonderful the gate might be, that alone doesn't make it a living breathing novel. A story is not something of this world. A real story requires a kind of magical baptism to link the world on this side with the world on the other side.”

“You can't write ... on the strength of influence. You can only write a good story or a good novel by yourself.”