I always find it extremely hard to remember the act of beginning. I almost deliberately forget it.

One of the most ephemeral and important things is atmosphere and tone and it's very hard to put your finger on what creates that.

I think every single person perceives things differently. We are all singular.

The concentration of the elite athlete is akin perhaps to the concentration of the writer.

It's dangerous to think too much about how a film will be received. Filmmaking is not a popularity contest. Some would disagree.

I, myself, don't like to see a film on Friday night and then forget it by the next day.

I'm trying to get under people's skin in a way. I don't like films that go in one ear and out the other.

I think striking the right tone for your story is, if you like, the alchemical work of writing.

I think it's restrictive to typecast myself as a novelist because I enjoy other forms of expression. I love literature and I love cinema.

I don't think good films have messages.

I do believe we're all adaptable, and you're probably more adaptable than you realize.

The purity of intention repels fear.

There is a hopeless longing for nostalgia that pervades the human soul, a return to the warm glow of remembrance or some imagined past.

The library was the best place in the world.

When you tame someone they become unique to you in all the world

It was Nick's voice Nick's arms. He turned me on my back and swam with me, pulling me to the bank.

...our concern is more about going to heaven than loving the King.

We all write poems; it is simply that poets are the ones who write in words.

Every problem solved is a problem made.

I'll go for things that I know are going to be wrong, with a vengeance

Most of my stories are ideas in action. In other words, I get a concept, and I let it run away. I find a character to act out the idea. And then the story takes care of itself.