Cities Fell. Earth Opened. Planets Tilted. Stars

There Are No Taboos. Every Topic Is Open, However Shocking. It Is The Way That The Topics Are Handled That's Important, And That Applies Whether It Is A 15-year-old Who Is Reading Your Book Or Someone Who Is 55.

Salinger Is Such A Terrific Writer; He Did So Many Great Things. He Is One Of Those Writers That I Still Reread, Simply Because He Makes Me See The Possibilities And Makes Me Feel Like Writing. There Are Certain Writers Who Put You In The Mood To Write. In The Way A Whiff Of A Cigar Will Bring Back Memories Of A Ballgame On A Saturday Afternoon, Reading Salinger Makes Me Want To Get To The Typewriter.

The Rewriting Is Always Crucial To What I Do; Whenever I Do A Scene, I Always Tell Myself That This Isn't Final And That I Can Do It Again, Better. The Pacing Is Probably From Experience. I've Always Liked Gradual Disclosure. I Keep Thinking Of My Rubber-band Theory. You Have A Rubber Band That You Keep Pulling And Pulling And Pulling, And Just At The Moment Of Snapping You Release It And Start Another Chapter And Start Pulling Again.

The Beautiful Part Of Writing Is That You Don't Have To Get It Right The First Time, Unlike, Say, A Brain Surgeon. You Can Always Do It Better, Find The Exact Word, The Apt Phrase, The Leaping Simile.

That's What Archie Did - Built A House Nobody Could Anticipate A Need For, Except Himself, A House That Was Invisible To Everyone Else.