When someone writes to tell me something I've written made them laugh or cry, I've done my job and done it well. The rest is all semantics.

I hate the crazy, neurotic characters beyond a certain point.

I'm a neurotic New York Jew by birth. Creating characters is second nature to me.

I had never really thought of myself as a writer; any writing I had done was just to give myself something to draw.

I've never sat down and thought about the difference between plot and theme. To me, that's never been important.

I was a very sickly kid. While I was in the hospital at age 7, my Dad brought me a stack of comic books to keep me occupied. I was hooked.

In these litigious times, if you're a beginner, it's becoming harder and harder to get your work to the people who might actually be able to hire you.

A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else.

When I'm my own editor, there's very little difference between the first draft and the final. I write what feels right to begin with. I rarely make any major changes.

Sometimes you're not even sure which of your stories were failures. There are things I've written that I thought were complete catastrophes when I finished with them that have gone on to generate some of my most positive feedback.

A writer writes. Period. No matter if someone is buying your work or not.

I've had editors over the years who couldn't find a clue if it was stapled to their butt.

Were there stories I wrote along the way that were terrible clinkers? God, yes. But they were all a product of their time, and I did the best I could.

I think there's something inherently dishonest in trying to go back and mess with the past.

People who were more concerned with themselves and looking good to their readers then they were with the characters sacrificed a series for the sake of a story.

I would like immortality.

When I got my first glimpse of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, my breath caught. In that single instant, he was Wolverine.

There is an ancient legend which warns that, should we ever learn our true origin, our universe will instantly be destroyed.

I try not to violate what came before me and to leave lots of wiggle room for those who will follow.

I try to find what makes even the worst, most despicable character sympathetic at his or her core.

Lord of the Rings, I think, is far and away the most brilliantly done stuff.

Art is always in the eyes of the beholder. Only posterity has the right to point out our mistakes.

I always wanted to fire rays out of my fingertips.

Unfortunately, there are writers whose only concern is how good they could make themselves look on a title.

What makes a story is how well it manages to connect with the reader, the visceral effect it has.

It's all about who's where on the food chain. When I'm the story editor, I expect my writers to follow my vision. When I'm working for another editor, I'm obliged to follow their vision.

The bottom line always remains the same: What is the basic humanity of the character? How do I make them resonate with the reader?

It all depends on which side of the desk you're sitting on.

When someone writes to tell me something I've written made them laugh or cry, I've done my job and done it well. The rest is all semantics.

In general, shorter is better. If you can encapsulate your idea into a single captivating sentence, you're halfway home.

You can read a dozen different textbooks or how-to manuals that will tell you the basic rules of what makes a story - a beginning, a middle, and an end.

I've always thought of myself as an organic writer, rather than a cerebral one. I feel my way along as I go, hoping I'll get to the place I intend to reach.

I became an art major, took every art class my school had to offer. In college, I majored in Advertising Art and Design.

If a story isn't working, I'm simply unable to finish it. That's what usually tells me something is wrong.

The most unrealistic thing I've ever read in comics is when some group of characters calls themselves the Brotherhood of Evil or the Masters of Evil. I don't believe any character believes their goals to be truly evil.

I realized the only thing I owed my audience was my own judgment and my own best effort.

These days, it seems that if you're not already in place, you can't get there from here.

A friend is someone who is there for you when hed rather be anywhere else.

I have done things politically, and I've been running a business at the same time, but I sort of joke that to some extent I do more than most legislators have done in their whole careers, and I've been doing it as a part-time job.

I believe that if a man does a job as well as a woman, he should be paid as much.

Don't let ambition get so far ahead that it loses sight of the job at hand.

You really should not do this job unless you're willing to put in that enormous amount of effort. You should not do the job unless you're willing to take risks. And you shouldn't do the job unless you're willing to lose the job, too.

In 1975 I decided that there was no future in flying (airline jobs were impossible to get, and who wants a job where you are judged only by seniority?) and headed off to grad school.

If we wait for the U.S. to do something, we will be waiting for a very long time. It's Europe, it's Australia, it's the other developed and middle developing countries that have got to do the job.

Even if I don't have a job, I work on plays and scenes.

In the middle of a recession no tax increase is justified because it kills jobs, and any tax increase is a job-killing measure and should be defeated.

It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.

Well, I think that those of us in public life that are trying to do a good job, and that are faced with this popular new game that the media has of being critical of everything that anybody in public office does probably are thin-skinned.

People may take a job for more money, but they often leave it for more recognition.