“All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what’s cool.”

“A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns.”

“If the writer were more like a reader, he’d be a reader, not a writer. It’s as uncomplicated as that.”

“A writer never has a vacation. For a writer, life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.”

“A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.”

“Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs.”

“You learn to write by writing, and by reading and thinking about how writers have created their characters and invented their stories. If you are not a reader, don't even think about being a writer.”

“I don't think you understand what the word cool means…. Being cool is about not participating in traditionally enjoyable experiences and creating the illusion that happiness can be found in alternative, less enjoyable experiences. The degree to which other people around you try to emulate your alternative lifestyle and fail determines how cool you are. You're only as cool as people wish they were.”

“Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp-post what it feels about dogs.”

“Be you writer or reader, it is very pleasant to run away in a book.”