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

I don't strive for perfect continuity, which is good, because I'd never achieve it.

Before I was a writer I was a computer programmer.

A good editor-and I don't claim to be one-can deduce the ideal elements of a writer's style and story and administer the necessary guidance to trick the writer into revealing it.

I always make sure I have an escape clause that allows me to pull my name off a project if I have to abandon it.

Flaws of style and sequence would fairly leap off the page and the means to correct them would, too.

During the many centuries that magic, here on this planet, was presumed to have worked, there were at least as many theories as to how magic worked as there were cultures and religions.

A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story.

There's a lot of hearsay and worse out on the Internet and, though I write fiction, I like to think that my background information is solid.