I feel like it's a good time to be a writer. I'm terminally optimistic. It seems like the publishing industry is in the middle of a big transition, and that the rules of the game are still sorting themselves out.

I can think of plenty of writers whose work I revere and whose lives I know little about.

For writers, so much is done in isolation. It can be easy to feel detached, or to get a little lost along the way.

I can only imagine the quiet horror that people must endure when they meet me in person.

People love honesty. Honesty is medicinal, I think. It makes people feel less lonely in the world.

Once I get my writing done, then I can turn my attention elsewhere - and not the other way around. The writing has to be the foundation.

I usually work seven days a week and rarely take vacations, which is both lame and unsustainable. I don't mind the idea of writing seven days a week, I suppose. Getting some work done early in the morning. But ideally I would love to take one day a week off.