Critics sometimes appear to be addressing themselves to works other than those I remember writing.

It is only through disruptions and confusion that we grow, jarred out of ourselves by the collision of someone else's private world with our own.

the music was always in the background, like music at a church service; it was something to depend upon.

When one crosses over from an activity, or the verb, of writing or doing, and becomes a noun, like "a writer" I think that is an act of supreme self-consciousness that I've never, in effect, made. I write, but I don't like to think of myself as a writer. I think it's somewhat self-aggrandizing and pretentious. Now, I am a teacher.

Though I am never exactly "blocked" I do have difficult periods. I am led by a fascination with material - the challenge of presenting it in an original and engaging way. I have no problem imagining stories, characters, distinctive settings & themes - but the difficulty is choosing a voice & a language in which to present it.

If I try to summon back his face, the sound of his voice, and the sensation in my stomach like a key turning in a lock when he touched me, I lose everything.

Getting the first draft finished is like pushing a peanut with your nose across a very dirty floor.