Dreaming When You're Awake

He writes the way a jazz musician extemporises - guided by impulse, without a plan. "I didn't have a teacher or a colleague as a writer, so the only way I knew was good music - rhythm, improvisation, harmony. I just know how to begin. If I knew how to finish, it wouldn't be fun because I'd know what would happen next. Writing is like dreaming when you're awake."

- From a fascinating profile of and interview with Haruki Murakami on the occasion of the publication of his new book of short stories.