I really had to decide why I was writing. I had no interest in going back to law; I very briefly - for about six hours - considered going to get my MBA, but in the end, I realized that the only work I really wanted to do was write.

I think if you spend much time dwelling on influence you can get self-conscious about every line you write. That's a great way to freeze up.

From about the age of 15 or 16 I'd had the notion that I wanted to write fiction, and I'd done enough in college to satisfy myself that I had a knack for it - I wouldn't call it "talent" - though I wondered if I'd ever have the guts to actually commit to it.

If a person wants to be of any use to himself, he better insist on getting his fair share of beauty and pleasure, and if there's something about the system that's keeping him from getting his share, then I think he's well within his rights to fight to change that.

It's amazing what happens when you stick yourself in a place and let things take their more or less natural course.

Late bloomer' is another way of saying 'slow learner.

I realized I was never going to have any peace with myself unless I made an honest stab at trying to write.