Our minds simply don't function in some sort of narrative chronology. I think that one of the great gifts of writing fiction is being able to think about that.

This may be a little bit of a provocative thing to say, but the memoirist doesn't owe the reader anything other than a good story and the inclining of the mind in the direction of memory. Of course, the memoirist is not allowed to make things up. But the really skilled memoirist knows what to leave in and what to leave out to serve the story. In autobiography you can't do that.

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

I was doing a lot of yoga and learning to meditate, and I found that extremely helpful, and still do and hopefully always will.

It's not gender-specific, but I do think it's women who tend to start having that sort of little whispering voice of "I want more here" and "I want more for my family."

I could spend two years cross-legged on my floor and feel like I was working.

Courage is more important than confidence