My forte is the plotting. You sit down, and you work out a plot.

Sometimes my plot lines are so convoluted, I get calls from friends at 3 am saying; you SOB, you'll never pull this one off.

I was the kid who stared out the window. I fantasized myself on the deck of pirate ships - Cussler at the bridge.

Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations. Plot is observed after the fact rather than before. It cannot precede action. It is the chart that remains when an action
is through. That is all Plot ever should be. It is human desire let
run, running, and reaching a goal. It cannot be mechanical. It can
only be dynamic. So, stand aside, forget targets, let the characters, your fingers, body, blood, and heart do.

When you're young and you're in love and it doesn't work out - it hurts.

I didn't work hard to sit down and not work.