The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I think a writer is a citizen of humanity, part of his nation, part of his family. He may have to make some compromises.

I don't think that the writer is regarded as a freak by Americans

I never show anything to anybody until I've finished it

I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that would never have occurred to me dead sober.

I imagine that my characters have become much more complicated than when I first began, which would be normal

Writing is like a contact sport, like football. Why do kids play football? They can get hurt on any play, can't they? Yet they can't wait until Saturday comes around so they can play on the high school team, or the college team, and get smashed around. Writing is like that. You can get hurt, but you enjoy it!

The writer works in a lonely way.