The First Chapter Law Is,

The First Chapter Law Is, "don't Spend Much Time On It. You're Going To Have To Rewrite It."

You Write For Two People, Yourself And Your Audience, Who Are Usually Better Educated And At Least As Smart.

A Writer Is Like A Bag Lady Going Through Life With A Sack And A Pointed Stick Collecting Stuff.

The Essays In The Great Taos Bank Robbery Were My Project To Win A Master Of Arts Degree In English When I Quit Being A Newspaper Editor And Went Back To College.

Although I Wasnt Able To Get A Visa For Vietnam, I Was Able To Talk With Swift Boat Veterans To Get A Feel For The Time And Place, And I Visited A Tropical Prison In The Philippines To Get A Sense Of What A Vietnamese Prison Might Have Been Like.