I'm Not Going To Write For Posterity.

Keep Your Exclamation Points Under Control. You Are Allowed No More Than Two Or Three Per 100,000 Words Of Prose.

I Focus On Characters As Individuals With Attitudes And Write Each Scene From A Particular Character's Point Of View. That Way, Even Narrative Passages Take On The Character's Sound. I Don't Want The Reader To Be Aware Of Me, Writing.

Everyone Has His Own Sound. I'm Not Going To Presume How To Tell Anybody How To Write.

Try Not To Write The Parts That People Skip.

Don't Go Into Great Detail Describing Places And Things, Unless You're ­margaret Atwood And Can Paint Scenes With Language. You Don't Want Descriptions That Bring The Action, The Flow Of The Story, To A Standstill.