I spent the morning smashing fliesI killed one fly against the doorjamb. Another I stalked into the kitchen...A third fly wavered by the kitchen window. When I swatted, a wild ferocious swing, a whole trembling crowd shot from the window like pebbles from a blunderbuss, then settled back. My heart pounded. I felt flushed with disgust and irritation. Why must I always have such obstacles to my writing?

Daily life is always extraordinary when rendered precisely.

Fiction must convince our bodies for it to have any chance of convincing our minds.

To gain the book, one must give up all hope for the book. It is the only way the book can get written.

How we learn is what we learn.

Writing teaches writing. Your writing will teach you how to write if you work hard enough and have enough faith.

Fiction structures an experience for the reader to live through. ... That is why people read: to have experiences.