“Every story makes a promise to the reader. Actually, two promises, one...” — Nancy Kress Quote

“Every story makes a promise to the reader. Actually, two promises, one emotional and one intellectual, since the function of stories is to make us both feel and think.”

“For the professional writer, stories must be presented as a series of individual scenes, each one dramatized with dialogue and telling descriptions of who is present and what they're all doing.”

“Before the scene, before the paragraph, even before the sentence, comes the word. Individual words and phrases are the building blocks of fiction, the genes that generate everything else. Use the right words, and your fiction can blossom. The French have a phrase for it - le mot juste - the exact right word in the exact right position.”

“It's just that, when the orchestra look at me, I want them to see a completely involved person who reflects what we rehearsed, and whose function is to make it possible for them to do it.”

“Often when I talk about what I do, making isn't just this inevitable function tacked on at the end.”

“A flag translates into everything, from tacky souvenirs to the names of organizations and the way that flags function.”