We're all simultaneously separated and connected by our devices, staring into our little screens, and also hungry for experience and community.

You have to believe in yourself before the world has given you any indication that you should believe in yourself as a writer.

We're all simultaneously separated and connected by our devices, staring into our little screens, and also hungry for experience and community.

When I was starting out there was no Internet, there wasn't this sense that you could be connected to other writers around the world. And that created a kind of innocence, or parochial quality, even in NYC.

A writer with her work needs to be like a dog with a bone all the time. She needs to know where she's hidden it. Where she's stored the good stuff. She needs to keep gnawing at it, even after all the meat seems to be gone. When a student of mine says (okay, whines) that she's impatient, or tired, or the worst: isn't it good enough? this may be harsh, but she loses just a little bit of my respect. Because there is no room for impatience, or exhaustion, or self-satisfaction, or laziness. All of these really mean, simply, that the inner censor has won the day.

I've certainly faced some raw, real pain in my life. I lost my father to a car accident when I was young. My mother died ten years ago. My son was very sick as an infant. Eventually, I have attempted to transform this pain into art, to make meaning out of it.

It's essential to have sacred time for writing. All successful authors have some daily commitment to keep on-track and moving forward.