Who Shot Him? I Asked.

The Roof Might Fall In; Anything Could Happen.

What I Try To Do Is Write A Story About A Detective Rather Than A Detective Story. Keeping The Reader Fooled Until The Last, Possible Moment Is A Good Trick And I Usually Try To Play It, But I Can't Attach More Than Secondary Importance To It. The Puzzle Isn't So Interesting To Me As The Behavior Of The Detective Attacking It.

Talking Is Something You Can't Do Judiciously Unless You Keep In Practice.

With What Dope I Got I Think It Fills Me In Pretty Well.

When You Write, You Want Fame, Fortune And Personal Satisfaction. You Want To Write What You Want To Write And Feel It's Good, And You Want This To Go On For Hundreds Of Years. You're Not Likely Ever To Get All These Things, And You're Not Likely To Give Up Writing And Commit Suicide If You Don't, But That Is -- And Should Be -- Your Goal. Anything Else Is Kind Of Piddling.