Howard Mittelmark

“Overuse at best is needless clutter; at worst, it creates the impression that the characters are overacting, emoting like silent film stars. Still, an adverb can be exactly what a sentence needs. They can add important intonation to dialogue, or subtly convey information.”

“Giving a reader a sex scene that is only half right is like giving her half of a kitten. It is not half as cute as a whole kitten; it is a bloody, godawful mess.”

“A good approach is to allow one dream per novel. Then, in the final revision, go back and get rid of that, too.”

“In real life, couples bond and war over a million different things. The causes of divorce are like beautiful, unique snowflakes.”