I really think that if there's any one enemy to human creativity, especially creative writing, it's self-consciousness.

I love short stories because I believe they are the way we live. They are what our friends tell us, in their pain and joy, their passion and rage, their yearning and their cry against injustice.

I really think that if there's any one enemy to human creativity, especially creative writing, it's self-consciousness.

My dad and mom divorced when I was around ten, and I didn't live with him after that, though he was close by and we saw each other weekly. I wasn't really aware that he was a writer; I didn't start reading his writing until I was about fifteen. It occurred to me then that my dad was kind of special; he's still one of my favorite writers.

Don't outline your stories. A lot of fiction workshops say you should. I say the opposite. I quote Grace Paley: "We write what we don't know we know."

I know I learn a lot from the students in my class and I'm not just saying that to sound like some generous teacher.

I've learned over the years that the writing is smarter and far larger than the writer and his or her own desires for it.