You have to be willing to be uncomfortable to be a writer.

The writer’s first job is not to have opinions but to tell the truth.

The speech we hear is an indication of that which we don't hear. It is a necessary avoidance, a violent, sly, anguished or mocking smokescreen which keeps the other in its place.

Don't just fight in the North or the South. Always imagine every battle in your mind, where everyone is both your enemy and your friend, and all possible events happen simultaneously. That way, nothing will take you by surprise, and everything that happens will be something you've already imagined.