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.

I actually think it's sometimes easier for the control freaks to let loose.

Sometimes I write well when I'm very upset.

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

Certainly children are being encouraged far more than they were seventy-five years ago and are more accepted as they are.

The making of fiction takes literally what is suggested by our imagination.

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.