I assemble stories-me and a hundred million other people-at the sentence level. Not by coming up with a sweeping story line.

Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed.

I'm not first and foremost interested in story and the what-happens, but I'm interested in who's telling it and how they're telling it and the effects of whatever happened on the characters and the people.

I'm not good at small talk; I'm not good at big talk; and medium talk just doesn't come up.

He could not wait to get rid of them so he could enjoy remembering them.

Sometimes a flat-footed sentence is what serves, so you don't get all writerly: 'He opened the door.' There, it's open.

I've always known when I start a story what the last line is. It's always been the case, since the first story I ever wrote. I don't know how it's going to get there, but I seem to need the destination. I need to know where I end up. It never changes, ever.