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" I have fun writing. I don't make it a chore. I don't have to struggle with it. "

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" I get letters. I get several a week, I think. A lot of people want a picture, a lot of people just want an autograph. "

" I used to be able to write five pages a day, every day, no problem. Now a good day is five or four pages, and that's from 9:30 A.M. until 6 P.M. "

" There are cities that get by on their good looks, offer climate and scenery, views of mountains or oceans, rockbound or with palm trees. And there are cities like Detroit that have to work for a living. "

" If I just sit here, what am I going to do? I don't have a trade. I don't teach or anything. I just love to make up characters and gradually build a story around them. "

" I don't have any of the modern stuff. I don't have e-mail. I don't have a computer! "

" To me, a book is a book, an electronic device is not, and love of books was the reason I started writing. "

" When you are developing your style, you avoid weaknesses. I am not good at describing things, so I stay away from it. And if anyone is going to describe anything at all, it's going to be from the point of view of the character, because then I can use his voice, and his attitude will be revealed in the way he describes what he sees. "

" My purpose is to entertain and please myself. I feel that if I am entertained, then there will be enough other readers who will be entertained, too. "

" The truth is that the writers who most influenced me weren't people categorized as crime writers. I'd say I learned more from John O'Hara, who isn't much read today but whose short stories I really admired, and Hemingway, who I think has lasted pretty good. "

" Never open a book with weather. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways to describe ice and snow than an Eskimo, you can do all the weather reporting you want. "

" Writers - all writers, even screenwriters - like to make their mark. I don't think many screenwriters can write. They pass as writers. "

" I got halfway through 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.' I don't get it at all. What's the big thrill? It's boring. "

" It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the keys. I'm doing action stories, so that's the way I like to do it. "

" I don't believe in writer's block or waiting for inspiration. If you're a writer, you sit down and write. "

" There are 500 million people on Facebook, but what are they saying to each other? Not much. "

" I try to leave out the parts readers skip. "

" Everyone has his own sound. I'm not going to presume how to tell anybody how to write. "

" I do this a lot with names. I'll start with a name, and then for some reason he won't talk much, or he's older than I pictured him just because of a name I give him. So then I finally get the right name, and I can't shut the guy up. This always happens. There's always a character who gives me trouble that way. "

" To me, writing is the most fun. It's not always fun, but finally when you make it come out the way you want, it's then you can say, 'It's fun, boy.' "

" Really, when I write a book I'm the only one I have to please. That's the beauty of writing a book instead of a screenplay. "

" I want the reader to know what's going on. So there's never a mystery in my books. "

" I decided to write Westerns because there was a terrific market for Westerns in the '50s. There were a lot of pulp magazines, like 'Dime Western' and '10 Story Western' that were still being published. The better ones paid two cents a word. And I thought, 'I like Westerns.' "

" If work was a good thing, the rich would have it all and not let you do it. "

" I don't get in a position to be frightened. I don't do anything dangerous, and I always pay my bills. "

" I'm not aware of a cadence when writing, but I hear it after. I write in longhand, and that helps. You're closer to it, and you have to cross things out. You put a line through it, but it's still there. You might need it. When you erase a line on a computer, it's gone forever. "

" I think the best advice I give is to try not to write. Try not to overwrite, try not to make it sound too good. Just use your own voice. Use your own style of putting it down. "

" People ask me, 'Why are you still writing books?' Like I'm still only writing to make money and as soon as I have enough I'll quit and go fishing? I like to write books. It's the most satisfying thing I do. "

" When people ask me about my dialogue, I say, 'Don't you hear people talking?' That's all I do. I hear a certain type of individual, I decide this is what he should be, whatever it is, and then I hear him. Well, I don't hear anybody that I can't make talk. "

" My characters have to talk, or they're out. They audition in early scenes. If they can't talk, they're given less to do, or thrown out. "

" Writing screenplays is not my business. I've written half a dozen, and maybe half of those were made. But it was never a satisfying experience. It was just work. You're an employee. You would be told what to do. Studio execs would cross out my dialogue and put in their dialogue. "