Truly things are better in general now, in America, than in the past.

Sometimes indirect style and varying chronology is great, but quite often I've seen it be just something that gets in the way. It turns out when I talk to the writer that she or he, and more often it's a woman, that she's worried.

I don't really like to tell people to get out drugs.

Being part of a community of writers is huge. I really think that's why people go to MFA programs.

If you have a character stand up and put on her shoes and open the door, in order to do that, you're imagining her shoes and her clothes and her house and her door. The character becomes more real. But once you've done that, you can probably just get it all across with a couple of details.

I just like doing it, I like writing.

Teaching is very important to me, and it has become more important as I get older.