I think a day in your life on which nothing bad happens may be a wonderful day, but it probably isn't going to be the basis of a story.

I don't really like to tell people to get out drugs.

Sometimes it's interesting to see what people who have too much control need to do to write freely.

Inevitably we start by thinking that if our work is any good, we'll get money. It's as we would if you started up a business or if you work in another profession.

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.

Censorship is all around us, I don't think it's innate.

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.