A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.

Αν είναι αρκετά νωρίς το πρωί κι αν σου είναι εύκολο να γυρίσεις με τη σκέψη σου σ' ένα φθινώπορο πριν από καμιά σαρανταριά χρόνια, θα καταφέρεις να κρυφτείς πίσω από τα βράχια του μόλου. Λεπτή, διάφανη, λουσμένη στο φως του πρωινού ήλιου η καταχνιά. Σμαραγδένια η φουσκοθάλασσιά του Ειρηνικού, ψυχρή σαν μαύρος άλιωτος πάγος η πέτρα.

Sooner I'd try to change history than turn political, than try convincing others to write letters or to vote or to march or to do something they didn't already feel like doing.

I'm not a celebrity or near celebrity. Sometimes people will say, "You're famous" and that stops me right there. What does fame mean? Fame is in the eye of the beholder. So, if somebody wants to call me 'famous', that's their business. I'm just me, a guy who messes around with airplanes and writes books that make sense to him.

The great thing about writing is, if you don't like the world, we'll create a different one.

There are two tests that we [writers] have for all of our writing: So What? and Who Cares? There is an answer to both. The answer to Who Cares is that a reader cares, if the writing is good. The answer to So What is that these ideas give us completely new understanding, change our sense of who we [people] are and why we're here [on this planet].