With non-fiction writing I feel like I'm confined and driven by what actually happened. That makes the "plot". So it's a process of getting all of my notes typed up, then scanning through the notes, trying to extract or find certain vignettes that seem like they might write well - that might have a potential for good energy, shape, etc. And then at some point I start stringing these together, keeping an eye on the word count.

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

It's so ironic that you often hear these right-wing people talking about the Constitution.

An artist's job is to be interested in things as they are.

I used to joke about this but I've recently realized that I really believe it: I spent many years training myself to write very slowly for pretty good money. So the idea of writing really quickly for free offends me.

According to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving. Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now.

We've got a real problem with social media that we didn't know we were going to have. It's almost like the demons have gotten out of the box.