The only rule I have when writing is to try to tell the truth. That doesn't mean you can't exaggerate, edit, rewrite things to make them more dramatic. But emotional truth is what I look for in writing.

Anger is really disappointed hope.

But we should ask the question: Why should a writer be more than a writer? Why should a writer be a guru? Why are we supposed to be psychiatrists? Isn't it enough to write and tell the truth? It's not like telling the truth is common. Writers are the earthworms of society. We aerate the soil. That's enough.

If you've been a pretty woman and always pursued by lovers, losing that and not having that - it feels like a great loss.

Conflict is the soul of literature.

Writing has often been accompanied by terror, silences, and then wild bursts of private laughter that suddenly make all the dread seem worthwhile.

Though my friends envied me because I always seemed so cheerful and confident, I was secretly terrified of practically everything.