I decided to write short stories because they got rejected quicker.

If you write a story based on a real person, you're trapped by the details of the real person and his life. It gets in the way of writing your own story.

Stephen had just come from a class discussion in which several students believed that the right cup of herbal tea would save them from pain and sorrow. Well acquainted with pain and sorrow, Stephen did not contribute to the discussion. He merely crossed these idiots off his list of possible friends.

I wrote eight full-length adult novels in my twenties. None of them were published

My favorite book is always the one I'm working on at the moment

I'm one of the lucky writers: plots come easily to me

When in doubt, shut up.