I think that we're always drawn - particularly sophisticated people - are always drawn to the idea of simplicity.

After all, spinning is its own reward. There wouldn't be carousels if it weren't so.

Someone once said that the joy is not in writing but in having written. I can't say I find that to be true, though I understand the sentiment.

Writing is the process of finding something to distract you from writing, and of all the helpful distractions - adultery, alcohol and acedia, all of which aided our writing fathers - none can equal the Internet.

New York has always been a place where it is possible to have memories without the experience that conventionally precede them.

Big writers become a kind of shared climate.

For me, the beauty of the blank page, or empty screen,staring up at nine thirty after two cups of coffee and a deep breath remains unique. The blankness invites scribbling on, mental drawing , and the best feeling I know - apart from the more obvious sensual ones - is the feeling of putting down the first thought and seeing it turn into symbols. Making an idea into an emotion.