I write with a fountain pen. And then revise word by word and line by line so that the first draft of a scene is usually the tenth or so draft.

I was reading for understanding. I wanted to do to a reader what Salinger did for me.

I write with a fountain pen. And then revise word by word and line by line so that the first draft of a scene is usually the tenth or so draft.

Reading is also a creative activity if you're doing it right. You can learn more from a story that's left the tracks than from a successful story.

Novels are written, not wished into existence. You have to sit your ass in the chair or nothing gets done.

You can't possibly conduct a proper affair without a lot of deliberating, scheming, speculating, and conniving. It's a delicate balance where the excitement must equal the guilt and sex must be as bright as the future you gamble.

The regional tags are often pejorative and dismissive. Don't think of place-bound stories, in other words, but of stories with a strong sense of place.