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" You know what it's like: you don't want to read your old books again. All you can see are the flaws, what you would do differently. "

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" I'm always watching people over a short time frame, putting them in an extreme position. Sometimes you don't see the humanity in a person because the time frame is so short and the circumstance so extreme. "

" I think young writers should get other degrees first, social sciences, arts degrees or even business degrees. What you learn is research skills, a necessity because a lot of writing is about trying to find information. "

" I left Edinburgh to follow the London punk scene in 1978, singing and playing guitar in various bands. My income was sporadic, so I did anything to eke out some kind of subsistence - laying down slabs, working as a kitchen porter. "

" Middle-class people worry a lot about money. They worry a lot about job security, and they do a lot of nine-to-five stuff. "

" The idea is not enough. And the most annoying thing for me as a writer is that people will come up to me and say, 'Hey, I've got a great idea for a book. I'm not a writer, but I've got a great story.' "

" I just want to get on and tell stories. "

" Holy Joy were a cult '80s band led by the wonderful songwriting genius that is Johny Brown. "

" I spend so much time on the screen when I am writing, the last thing you want to do is spend more time on the Internet looking at a screen. That's what I hate about all this technology. "

" You can't satirise darts, because it's hyper-real as it is; there's already enough over-the-top madness to it. "

" In my flat in Chicago, I've got this big room with an office in the corner and a balcony so I can watch people go by. "

" I have a lot of successful musician pals, and as I get older, I find that I'm lucky to be a writer. I have great anonymity compared to musicians who sell the same number of records as I do books. "

" So many people have become divorced from the system, criminalised by their lifestyle. "

" What worries me is the professionalism of everything. "

Professionalism

" I'm working on a screenplay right now for the BBC, but I hope to have the decks cleared soon so I can get into the studio with my pals and put down some more tracks, try to get a strong dance single together. "

" It's like nothing's really happening. Our culture is almost dead. "

" It's that kind of thing that readers have. I have it as a reader myself: that expectation that the writer will be that person. Then I meet other writers and realize that they're not. "

" I've been doing a bit of screenwriting and producing, and even a bit of directing. "

" The first job of a writer is to be honest. "

" There's something about the modern era where it's very hard to transgress - we're all so online, easier to track by mobile phone - so you have people who do it on your behalf. "

" From 'Trainspotting' to 'Acid House,' I moved from urban realism into fantasy. "

" I wanted to capture the excitement of house music, almost like a four-four beat, and the best way to do that was to use a language that was rhythmic and performative. "

" There is a kind of mysticism to writing. "

" Sometimes a book influences me because it winds me up. There'll be something that gets under my skin and makes me think that I can do better. "

" It was around the summer of 1982 when the drug problem really impacted. It became a lifestyle rather than a recreation. When you start lying and stealing, you cannot con yourself you're in control any more. "

" I'd always liked to read, but when I picked up books I wasn't getting the same kind of excitement from them that I was from going out clubbing. I wanted to get the same kind of feel. "

" I didn't have any concept of Trainspotting being published. It was a selfish act. I did it for myself. "

" Basically, particularly in Britain, it's a hegemonic thing that people who write tend to come from the leisure classes. They can afford the time and the books. "

" When a town doesn't have a book store, it is like something is missing, and unfortunately, fewer and fewer have them. "

" People in Scotland want the parliament but don't give a toss about the elections. "

" Writing has been handed to me on a plate. "