Terry Gross. I would rush home from high school to listen to Terry Gross.

Specificity is the soul of narrative.

More people have more access to more readers for less money than ever before in history. It means a lot of dross; but it means a lot of very talented people can find and nurture a readership in ways that were not possible twenty years ago. From a creative perspective, that is all that writing is about.

We have all been empowered by the web: everyone with a keyboard can now effectively broadcast to a national audience. In a sense, it puts each of us on the same footing as the major media conglomerates, except for AOL, who now apparently own all our thoughts and teeth.

My fame is due to broadcast television.

I don't watch television. And certainly not ads; I loathe advertising.

First of all, I wish I could grow a beard.