Your kids inevitably want to move where they had their vacations when they were younger.

The world that used to nurse us now keeps shouting inane instructions. That's why I ran to the woods.

I've never felt influenced by Ernest Hemingway though I suppose there is something inevitable there.

The wilderness does not make you forget your normal life so much as it removes the distractions for proper remembering.

Yeah, but now suddenly - you know, universities are notoriously market oriented, too.

I like grit, I like love and death, I'm tired of irony. ... A lot of good fiction is sentimental. ... The novelist who refuses sentiment refuses the full spectrum of human behavior, and then he just dries up. ... I would rather give full vent to all human loves and disappointments, and take a chance on being corny, than die a smartass.

The only advice I can give to aspiring writers is don't do it unless you're willing to give your whole life to it. Red wine and garlic also helps.