"For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel."

"When I have an idea, it goes from vague, cloudy notion to 100,000 words in a heartbeat."

"Ideas aren't magical; the only tricky part is holding on to one long enough to get it written down."

"No one uses a ribbon typewriter any more, but your final draft is not the time to try to wring a few more sheets out of your inkjet cartridge."

"So then, the relationship of self to other is the complete realization that loving yourself is impossible without loving everything defined as other than yourself."

"I think first and foremost everybody should understand that Canadians are strongly committed to the system of universal health insurance, to the principle that your ability to pay does not determine your access to critical medical service."

"I am lucky, I'm the first to admit that."

"Learning sleeps and snores in libraries, but wisdom is everywhere, wide awake, on tiptoe."