We're always inventing, even if we're making someone who's fairly close to ourselves.

I love to read nonfiction and memoir, but I'm mostly interested in the piece of writing more than the person.

It's hard to say which of us is luckier, the ones who go through long periods when they can't write or the ones who can write pretty easily.

I think you have to remember that writing is hard; my first editor used to say that to me.

Whoever would write books? It's suffering as well as greatly satisfying. And certainly there's suffering in the sense that you don't know for a long time how to do it.

There is a lot of censorship about writing that's exerted from all directions, from families or governments and society, even the fear of being offensive in some way.

I think a day in your life on which nothing bad happens may be a wonderful day, but it probably isn't going to be the basis of a story.