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" 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. "

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" A friend of mine who is in the publishing business knew I was writing a book, and he said, 'Have you said anything yet about the good guy? Because I know you spend so much time with the bad guys.' Because they're fun. So then you have to make the good guy fun, in order to compete. That's the challenge. "

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

" 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. "

" 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.' "

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

" I left advertising as fast as I could in 1961. And I haven't ever thought about going back. "

" 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. "

" If I have several bad guys and I only want to end up with one of them, then I have to decide which one I want in the end. And normally it's the one who is the most interesting talker. "

" 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 have any of the modern electronics at all. I know the Internet would be a distraction. I would see things that interested me and never get back to writing. "

" 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 would say just start writing. You've got to write every day. Copy someone that you like if you think that perhaps could become your sound, too. I did that with Hemingway, and I thought I was writing just like Hemingway. Then all of a sudden it occurred to me - he didn't have a sense of humor. I don't know anything he's written that's funny. "

" I once saw Dizzy Gillespie at a live show, and it made me want to go home immediately and start writing. "

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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I'm not going to write for posterity. I'm going to write to make a buck. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

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

" I can write anywhere. But I don't use a computer, and I could never write on a laptop. I hate the sound of computers; it's too dull, like it's not doing anything for you. "

" 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. "

" If you take a few days to write an outline, you're just making up scenes that you think will work, that you think will be interesting. But as you write it, other ideas occur - better ideas that have to do with what you're writing. "

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

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

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

" I never see my bad guys as simply bad. They want pretty much the same thing that you and I want: they want to be happy. "