I'm one of the lucky writers: plots come easily to me.

I get letters from readers who say that they have always hated reading, but somebody suggested one of my books, they actually finished the book and enjoyed it, and they're going on to read another book. I'm thrilled that they have figured out that reading is fun.

I wrote eight full-length adult novels in my twenties. None of them were published.

I decided to write short stories because they got rejected quicker.

I love all of it, thinking up the plots, getting to know the kids in the story, their parents, backyards, pizza toppings.

Actually my first eight books were historical novels, but they were never published.

I believe my readers are crazy about their parents and want to be just like them when they grow up.

I approach serious subjects, and I like to have the good guys win and have the parents among the good guys.

I'm one of the lucky writers: plots come easily to me.

If you write a story based on a real person, you're trapped by the details of the real person and his life. It gets in the way of writing your own story.

My favorite book is always the one I'm working on at the moment.

I love writing and do not know why it is considered such a difficult, agonizing profession.

People nearly always believe, and are willing to back it up with weapons and cruelty, that their religion and way of life is better than the other person's.

I believe my voice is pretty much the same. I've written 75 books, so I'm better at it now than I was earlier in my career.

Getting married is easy. Staying married is more difficult. Staying happily married for a lifetime should rank among the fine arts.

Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.

I've got this theory that human beings are innately religious; we have a belief system. It doesn't have to be a theist form, necessarily. But we need a belief system, some framework on which to hang our behavior.

It was a privilege to direct the music video for Adele's beautiful, heartbreaking song, 'Hello.' When I first heard it, all the images appeared clearly in my head - and her trust and generosity allowed me to work with abandon artistically and emotionally, like she always does. It made me extremely proud.

It's astonishing what some women will put up with just to have a warm body. Some of the brightest women I know are just obsessed with that search. It's very sad.

I allow a lot of room for improvisation and funny stuff. I always feel planned.

I really love laser-cutting. I do a lot of laser-cut jewelry and laser-etched stationery. I'll even etch my food sometimes. You can download an image online and etch it onto a tortilla or a brownie. It's so cool to meld the digital and analog worlds together.

Twitter is very impulsive and impermanent and you only have 140 characters. There is no greater 'Emperor' of Twitter than Stephen Fry.

There's a whole set of values, spawned by the vocal and highly visible Republicans, that appeal to the worst in people. Our society is moving in that direction.

In 1962, the smallest things were upsetting to authority. It wasn't the Civil Rights Movement. It wasn't the Anti-war Movement. It was something else, but it was a harbinger of what was to come.

I got an agent when I was 16 up in Vancouver, Canada.

If they had said my writing wasn't good enough, fair enough, that's an opinion. But to say it's too complex is to insult the intelligence of the so-called young.

Divorce is one of the most stressful life events anyone goes through.

To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility.

Life was so easy before I became an actor. I could talk to anyone, and no one bothered. I keep thinking to myself, 'Should I not be myself,' but I won't do that.

Cultivating literature as I do upon a little oatmeal, and driving, when in a position to be driven at all, in that humble vehicle, the 'bus, I have had, perhaps, exceptional opportunities for observing their mutual position and behaviour; and it is very peculiar.

My children receive education that greatly emphasizes the fact they are part of a human group that has tradition, collective memory, and a state. I am a great believer in the need for Israel to be a Jewish state. I certainly believe my children will pass that on to their children.

I love all sorts of food, chocolate especially. I eat well, but I like the odd Chinese, like anyone!

The white men of the South had better make up their minds that the blacks will remain in the South just as long as corn will tassel and cotton will bloom into whiteness.

Players today moan about the number of games, but when you're young, you can't play enough.

In the past, in the '60s and '70s, genres were much more segmented. You had action guys who were deadly serious about it, and I think you had comics that were comics.

When I was a kid I was always afraid of small dogs, because they always seemed like the ones that would attack.

Exercise, prayer, and meditation are examples of calming rituals. They have been shown to induce a happier mood and provide a positive pathway through life's daily frustrations.

At 7-1, your pitching has obviously controlled that other team. At 16-10, I'm not sure when it's safe.