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.

Being part of a community of writers is huge. I really think that's why people go to MFA programs.

Sometimes I write well when I'm very upset.

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.

It's a scary thing for fiction writers, when you're always writing from the point of view both as and for someone who is different.

It's hard to say which of us is luckier, the ones who go through long periods when they can't write or the ones who can write pretty easily.

I think we need to develop the courage to write from the viewpoint of people who may seem quite different from ourselves, who might have a different sexual orientation or a different race or a different ethnicity.