Ruskin Bond

Whenever I run out of people to write about, I cook up a few ghosts, or they appear before me.

The older you get, the lesser you are bothered by what others think.

I like flowers. In my next life, maybe I can be a gardener.

I have no real regrets.

I had a bad habit of falling in love with any girl who was nice to me.

I keep a journal, like many writers do. It helps in writing a story, as you can use an incident from the journal and put in your story.

I have always discouraged young writers from self-publishing, by which I mean going to a vanity publisher and spending your hard earned savings - say, some two-three lakhs - and getting your book printed. It's not published; it's printed!

I am a compulsive writer.

My first, 'Room on the Roof,' was the longest book I've written.

Small places intrigue me. Whenever I tried moving to a larger city, I ran back to the hills.

If I set out to write 'War And Peace' or 'A Suitable Boy,' I'd be miserable.

One has to be ambitious to start writing.

I fortunately have a good memor, and that helps a lot in the way I write.

I have been apolitical all my life.

Children haven't changed - the world around them has. Their basic natures haven't changed. They like ice creams. They like to have fun, play games if they get space.

It is okay to experiment with language. Writers such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf experimented with writing, but basically, one must have a familiarity with the language. And to have that, one must respect it.

I don't overwork - a couple of hours a day is fine for me.

There will always be books as long as I am mentally capable of it.

I use a ball pen because fountain pens are clumsy, and I get ink all over my fingers by the time I finish with it.

My mother wanted me to join the Indian army, as the army was seen as a decent and respectable career to have. I shocked my mother by telling her that I wanted to be a writer.