A reader, encountering a sentence about a barking dog, would have to dwell on why that choice was made at that moment. Everything in a novel is explicitly chosen, whereas some of what a film captures feels incidental, according to the vagaries of photography and sound recording.

I've always been passionately in love with movies, to such a degree that even as a young person of about nineteen or twenty I thought maybe I would try to become a film director. The reason I didn't do it was because I felt I didn't have the right personality. At that time in my life, I was mortally shy.

I want to write books that can be read a hundred years from now, and readers wouldn't be bogged down by irrelevant details.

For me, music is sort of the art that I can't incorporate into my person the way I want to.

As much as I care about historical context - I'm very eager to read a really great historical account.

What age is a black boy when he learns he's scary?

I hate feeling too complacent when I write. I like to be solving new problems.