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.

You have to write fiction that mirrors the actual world, which has people of all sorts in it.

Sometimes I write well when I'm very upset.

There is a lot of censorship about writing that's exerted from all directions, from families or governments and society, even the fear of being offensive in some way.

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

I think the difference between writing as someone and writing for them is that when you write for someone, you take on a kind of political burden or message, which I don't think we have the right to do.

I love to read nonfiction and memoir, but I'm mostly interested in the piece of writing more than the person.