“The experience was an exciting one for me. It illustrated that writing was about risk—about risking everything. And that the value of the writing is not in what you publish but in its consequences. If you set out to describe reality, then the influence of the writing is upon reality.”

“What’s writing really about? It’s about trying to take fuller possession of the reality of your life.”

“Life is a risk; so is writing. You have to love it.”

“Dreams are illustrations… from the book your soul is writing about you.”

“Nobody has to read this book. Nobody has to pick it up. Nobody has to open it. And if they open it and read it, they don't have to like it. And if you read it and you dislike it, you don't have to remain silent about it. You can write to me, you can complain about it, you can write to the publisher, you can write to the papers, you can write your own book. You can do all those things, but there your rights stop. No one has the right to stop me writing this book. No one has the right to stop it being published, or sold, or bought, or read.”

“To write something you have to risk making a fool of yourself.”

“Writing about the unholy is one way of writing about what is sacred.”

“Fantasy is totally wide open; all you really have to do is follow the rules you've set. But if you're writing about science, you have to first learn what you're writing about.”

“Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing.”

“If you write, you should write about the truth.”