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Fortunately, I've always had self-belief.

Oh, I just tend to believe in things when I'm writing them. For instance, when I was writing 'Doctor Dee,' I believed in magic. And when I wrote 'Hawksmoor' I believed in psychic geography. But as soon as I type the last full stop, I'm back to being a complete blank again.

I had a massive amount of self-belief when I did stand-up.

Self-belief? My parents gave it to me.

I've always had a belief in myself and an ability to always do what I believe.

I used to think... that people would think badly of me for various stuff they read. But now I accept it's just part of the deluge of stuff that comes every day.

I don't recall having any self-awareness about the intricacy of my stories.

On the rare occasions when I spend a night in Oxford, the keeping of the hours by the clock towers in New College, and Merton, and the great booming of Tom tolling 101 times at 9 pm at Christ Church are inextricably interwoven with memories and regrets and lost joys. The sound almost sends me mad, so intense are the feelings it evokes.

In England, everyone believes if you think, then you don't feel. But all my novels are about joining together thinking and feeling.

As a writer, you need a strong sense of self-belief. And when it comes to writing, I've always had that.