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.

I think the difference between writing as someone and writing for them is that when you write for someone, you take on a kind of political burden or message, which I don't think we have the right to do.

Maybe we're stuck with who we are.

Writers sometimes are paid a great deal of money, but much more frequently they're not paid or are paid only a little bit.

The making of fiction takes literally what is suggested by our imagination.

When I've taught writing to five, six, and seven year olds, it's not very different than talking to an adult writer. They're writers then, and when they get to be young teenagers they're not anymore. You might go and talk to them about writing, and they'll be very self-conscious or will have detached themselves from the group.

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