From 1968 On, I Was Pretty Much

In A Very Real Way, One Writes A Story To Find Out What Happens In It. Before It Is Written It Sits In The Mind Like A Piece Of Overheard Gossip Or A Bit Of Intriguing Tattle. The Story Process Is Like Taking Up Such A Piece Of Gossip, Hunting Down The People Actually Involved, Questioning Them, Finding Out What Really Occurred, And Visiting Pertinent Locations. As With Gossip, You Can't Be Too Surprised If Important Things Turn Up That Were Left Out Of The First-heard Version Entirely; Or If Points Initially Made Much Of Turn Out To Have Been Distorted, Or Simply Not To Have Happened At All.

Ambition Like A Liquid Ruby Stains.

I Want To Read About A Character Doing Something Fairly Quiet Where I Can Picture Who The Character Is, And What Their Attitude Towards The World Is - Which I'm A Lot More Interested In Than What They Do Under The Pressure Of A Gunfight.

The Rich Are Always Enamored Of The Ancient.

Like Contemporary Poetry, Philosophy Is One Of Those Things, Especially At The Beginning Stages, Most People Would Rather Do Than Study - Which Is Why Most Of What Gets Done Is So Impoverished.