If It Sounds Like Writing, I Rewrite

Try Not To Write The Parts That People Skip.

Never Open A Book With Weather. There Are Exceptions. If You Happen To Be Barry Lopez, Who Has More Ways To Describe Ice And Snow Than An Eskimo, You Can Do All The Weather Reporting You Want.

I'm Very Much Aware In The Writing Of Dialogue, Or Even In The Narrative Too, Of A Rhythm. There Has To Be A Rhythm With It … Interviewers Have Said, You Like Jazz, Don’t You? Because We Can Hear It In Your Writing. And I Thought That Was A Compliment.

A Friend Of Mine Who Is In The Publishing Business Knew I Was Writing A Book, And He Said, 'have You Said Anything Yet About The Good Guy? Because I Know You Spend So Much Time With The Bad Guys.' Because They're Fun. So Then You Have To Make The Good Guy Fun, In Order To Compete. That's The Challenge.

I Don't Judge In My Books. I Don't Have To Have The Antagonist Get Shot Or The Protagonist Win. It's Just How It Comes Out. I'm Just Telling A Story.