When I Look Back Over My Novels

Were It Not For Occam's Razor, Which Always Demands Simplicity, I'd Be Tempted To Believe That Human Beings Are More Influenced By Distant Causes Than Immediate Ones. This Would Especially Be True Of Overeducated People, Who Are Capable Of Thinking Past The Immediate, Of Becoming Obsessed By The Remote. It's The Old Stuff, The Conflicts We've Never Come To Terms With, That Sneaks Up On Us, Half Forgotten, Insisting Upon Action.

When I Look Back Over My Novels What I Find Is That When I Think I'm Finished With A Theme, I'm Generally Not. And Usually Themes Will Recur From Novel To Novel In Odd, New Guises.

To His Surprise, She Leaned Over And Kissed Him On The Forehead, A Kiss So Full Of Affection That It Dispelled The Awkwardness, Even As It Caused Miles' Heart To Plummet, Because All Kisses Are Calibrated, And This One Revealed The Great Chasm Between Affection And Love.

Whatever You're Working On, Take Small Bites. The Task Will Not Be Overwhelming If You Can Reduce It To Its Smallest Component.

I Think That If People Are Instructed About Anything, It Should Be About The Nature Of Cruelty. And About Why People Behave So Cruelly To Each Other. And What Kind Of Satisfactions They Derive From It. And Why There Is Always A Cost, And A Price To Be Paid.