I find it satisfying and intellectually stimulating to work with the intensity, brevity, balance and word play of the short story.

and they shook hands, hit each other on the shoulder, then there was forty feet of distance between them and nothing to do but drive away in opposite directions. Within a mile Ennis felt like someone was pulling his guts out hand over hand a yard at a time. He stopped at the side of the road and, in the whirling new snow, tried to puke but nothing came up. He felt about as bad as he ever had and it took a long time for the feeling to wear off.

Archie was an expert at dividing the affairs of life into men's business and women's business. An empty cupboard and a full plate were the man's business, a full cupboard and an empty plate the concern of the woman.

You know, one of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music.

If you get the landscape right, the characters will step out of it, and they'll be in the right place.

Change itself is what fascinates me. I am drawn, as a moth to the flame, by edge situations, by situations of metamorphosis.

Anyway, there's something wrong with everybody and it's up to you to know what you can handle.