When you're writing a novel, you're still telling a story. But you're telling it very differently. It's a craft like anything else.

We're not allowed to carry out harsh interrogations anymore, but we're allowed to fly over somebody's village, without due process, and kill them all?

Where I came from, no one was a writer.

I guess I've always been an aspiring novelist. I went to Princeton and wrote a novel for my thesis.

When you're writing a novel, you're still telling a story. But you're telling it very differently. It's a craft like anything else.

I have a ways to go as a novelist. But what's great is, well, I frankly enjoyed the solitude. And I enjoyed being able to tell characters what to say and do without negotiating with an actor.

Doing good stuff or stuff that you are proud of takes time and takes effort.