As I write, invariably I encounter more questions and answer those as I go.

In teaching writing, I'm learning new things about writing.

Guy Gavriel Kays Tigana is, in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best fantasy novel ever written. Its beautifully written, the characters are unforgettable, the worldbuilding is exquisite.

Guy Kay is probably my favorite and the writer I most want to emulate.

Writing about craft has forced me to think more about my own writing technique, and to break down my process in ways that have been enormously helpful to me.

I write every day for most of the work day, and I try to write 2,500 words per day... If I don't make it a routine and treat it like a job, I'd never get anything done.

I listen to instrumental jazz and bluegrass, but aside from my AM workout, I have no rituals.

The closer you can get to your setting and to primary sources, the more authentic your history is going to be.

I love magic and playing with magic systems. But to me, good fantasy like all fiction comes down to good character and plotting.

Wrote my first "novel" when I was six. Studied a bit in college, but then pursued history... But when I started writing professionally, it was mostly learn as you go.

The best writing advice I ever got was "Keep moving forward, don't retreat into rewrites." The worst came from a book that said "Writing fiction is like telling lies," which just seems stupid to me.

Just because you are available for a relationship, doesn't mean you are ready for one.

[A mother] discovers with great delight that one does not love one's children just because they are one's children but because of the friendship formed while raising them.

Duty is ours and events are God's.

There ought to be a robust, uninhibited conversation in black America with different black ideological perspectives.

I'm not very good at multi-tasking. Most people aren't, but they think they are. The mind is really better when you're really focused on one thing.

Today's competitiveness, so much imposed from without, is exhausting, not exhilarating; is unending-a part of one's social life, one's solitude, one's sleep, one's sleeplessness.

So the Warrior fights the Good Fight and he helps others, even though he does not quite understand why.

But if something was really important, fate made sure it somehow came back to you and gave you another chance.

Happiness is actually an individual choice, even in the midst of negative circumstances. It's not something our employers can give to us, though they can limit and influence that choice.

If I upset you, don't stress. Never forget That God isn't finished with me yet. I feel His hand on my brain... When I write rhymes, I go blind and let the Lord do His thang.