“My great-grandfather was a self-taught man, and his library was extraordinary. I read the lot.”

I was more inclined to think of it as “writer’s impatience”, and to follow Arthur Koestler’s dictum: “Soak; and wait.

When you start, the world of publishing seems like a great cathedral citadel of talent, resisting attempts to let you inside.

She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls.

I wish Monkeys could Skype. Maybe one day.

You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting.

Possessive parents rarely live long enough to see the fruits of their selfishness.

Everything I have ever written has been in the same chair, in the same room.

Ive learned never to try and force words to come.

… I had never given much credence to the phenomenon of “writer’s block”.

It isn’t like that at all. It may be more difficult now, and take longer than when I started to write, but there’s a great, empty warehouse out there looking for simple talent.

My attitude is that if anybody of any age wants to read a book, let them, but I do think that no child would want to read Boneland.

At this level, only images connect. And here, story becomes symbol; symbol is myth. And myth is truth.

It’s where I keep all my things. Get a lot of compliments on this.

Hitting the gym to release stress is not nearly as effective as hitting the people that cause the stress to begin with.

If you are going to write, nothing will stop you, and if you are not going to write, nothing will make you.

I love research so much that I do an enormous amount; it helps put off the moment of starting to write the story.

It was all about – very selfish in a lot of ways.

The reality, unfortunately, is a little different, and it has a lot to do with trust, or a lack of it.

A lot of negative words adults call the young.

It’s going to be over before a lot of us even know it started.

A series is a big deal, and there are a lot of people out there writing stuff that don’t know what art is.

It’s a lot easier to get in and out of a bath. Hot tubs are bad news for actors, man.

Until then, there’s a lot of work to be done.

When I’m directing, I’m pretty much not writing, but when I’m not directing I am writing a lot.