Being wrong about important things is exhausting.

I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I don't mean only that I have to know what happens. I mean that I have to hear the actual sentences. I have to know what atmosphere the words convey.

There's a lot of ignorance about how long it takes to write a novel. There's a lot of ignorance about how long a novel is in your head before you start to write it.

Every American should be forced to live outside the United States for a year or two. Americans should be forced to see how ridiculous they appear to the rest of the world! They should listen to someone else's version of themselves--to anyone else's version! Every country knows more about America than Americans know about themselves! And Americans know absolutely nothing about any other country!

There are always suicides among people who are unable to say what they mean.

It happens to many teenagers-that moment when you feel full of resentment or distrust for those adults you once loved unquestioningly.

We permit bad taste in this country. In fact, we even encourage it - and reward it in all manner of ways.