Every Story I Create, Creates Me. I

First Forget Inspiration. Habit Is More Dependable. Habit Will Sustain You Whether You're Inspired Or Not. Habit Will Help You Finish And Polish Your Stories. Inspiration Won't. Habit Is Persistence In Practice.

I Wanted To Write A Novel That Would Make Others Feel The History: The Pain And Fear That Black People Have Had To Live Through In Order To Endure.

Beware At War Or At Peace, More People Die Of Unenlightened Self-interest Than Of Any Other Disease

It's When People Begin Using Their Religion As Just A Way Of Getting Power Over Other People That Scares Me. I'm Afraid That's What's Going On In A Lot Of Cases Right Now. When People Deliberately Tell Lies, Creationism For Instance, And Pretend, "oh, It's Not Really Religion." I Mean They Know They're Lying, And Yet They're The Religious People. There's Something Wrong There.

Every Story I Create, Creates Me. I Write To Create Myself. Every Story I Write Adds To Me A Little, Changes Me A Little, Forces Me To Reexamine An Attitude Or Belief, Causes Me To Research And Learn, Helps Me To Understand People And Grow.