If we grew up with nothing, we're complicated with that. That's the thing I keep hearing from people.

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.

When a writer's whole being is poured into a piece of work, there is never enough. The feeling of finally getting to the end of a piece of work, of making it as good as you can at that moment, is more of a relief than anything else, and then you wait for reviews.

It is only with distance that we are able to turn our powers of observation on ourselves, thus fashioning stories in which we are characters.

Confidence is highly overrated when it comes to creating literature. A writer who is overly confident will not engage in the struggle to get it exactly right on the page - but rather, will assume that she's getting it right without the struggle.

As writers, it is our job not only to imagine, but to witness.

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