In many cultures, women are sometimes literally kept from learning to read or from going to school.

Little children are all writers.

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

I heard a white writer say, 'Oh, I'd never put black people in my writing, I'm afraid I would offend someone by doing it wrong.' I can't bear that!

There seems to be a tremendous desire among many people now to know authors and how they work, to know what's autobiographical and what isn't.

Sometimes people want to know how to write a story from the point of view of a murderer and make her sympathetic. I think the answer is that you start by having her look for her car keys, because everybody knows what it's like.

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