"Revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done."

"I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify; and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gro…"

"The most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn't very interesting."

"He referred to himself as 'the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.'"

"The greatest terror is the terror of the unknown."