I began to see, again and again, stories that were first confusing and second where the emotional impact was muted because the big scene came before the explanation of what was going on. There was a reverse chronological order as well as a concealment of what exactly was going on. I think often that comes out of the fear of being boring, and sometimes I think it's just an attempt to seem clever.

The main thing is to explain to yourself that everybody suffers.

You can't tell a writer they should just be more confident.

There seems to be a tremendous desire among many people now to know authors and how they work, to know what's autobiographical and what isn't.

I think people feel for a long time that they ought to know how to write a novel in two drafts.

Anyone with an imagination can write about the day-to-day experiences of someone he or she is not.

I love it when people can help me with my work, so I do show it.