My go-to default is to try to be nice, which I feel does less harm in the long run than trying to be, say, assertive. If I am nice and maybe too passive, I find that easier to live with.

Fiction is open to whoever comes in the door, as long as you come in energetically.

I have finally realized that, you know, it's not a given that my lifespan will accommodate my writing aspirations.

The internet kind of feels like happiness sometimes, however. It feels like stimulation.

A person supporting [Donald]Trump likes Trump. And I think they would say the same about me.

With nonfiction, I go in trying to be really honest about what my preconceptions are.

I don't know about transformation. But scientifically you can say: Well, it doesn't seem to hurt anybody. Personally I've been cheered by books at really critical moments. That much I believe.