I don't have the courage not to write all the time.

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

I had never written about what it's like to live the life of a writer, and I had never read a book that combined talking about the life of writing and how you can do it, how you can stand it, how you can emotionally manage it, with the choices that we all make on the page.

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

When an editor first explained to me the difference between direct and indirect writing, I just thought it was a stylistic choice.

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

I think we need to develop the courage to write from the viewpoint of people who may seem quite different from ourselves, who might have a different sexual orientation or a different race or a different ethnicity.