There's the belief that we can't be smart enough to write. And certainly censorship of women, too.

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.

Anyone with an imagination can write about the day-to-day experiences of someone he or she is not.

Little children are all writers.

Telling someone to be confident in the abstract is not going to make it easier for the unconfident writer to actually get herself or himself to the point of being able to put in the upsetting stuff.

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

I get to a certain point, and I think in a novel it's about the third draft, when I want other eyes on it.