I actually think it's sometimes easier for the control freaks to let loose.

You have to write fiction that mirrors the actual world, which has people of all sorts in it.

I think that inevitably, the trouble our characters go through is a kind of metaphor for what's happening in ourselves.

I've been astonished how often, when I convince a writer to tell a story more straightforwardly and to tell it more simply and directly, it turns out that this author is great and the story is wonderful.

We have to diversify, we have to find work we can do that helps other people while helping ourselves, work that has to do with writing that isn't necessarily just writing saleable novels or getting huge advances.

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

There are so many different ways, most of them helpful and legal, to get yourself into a state of mind where writing is possible. It's going to be different for each person.