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

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

Somehow we have to detach from feeling as though money is a quick and easy standard by which we can gauge how well we're doing.

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

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.

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

This is true in other fields, too, that a legal aid lawyer gets a whole lot less money than a Hollywood lawyer who handles the estates of celebrities. Maybe the legal aid lawyer is doing something better, though, and maybe they're happier. It's not a completely unheard of idea, but I do think we have to remind ourselves at times to look for satisfaction in other ways.