I was born in the era of the novel. I've written many, as well as collections of poetry, and essays for mouthing off. I've written to inches, word-counts, page-counts, even the sonnet and the screenplay (which I call a plot poem). I write narrative. That's it. I just want to tell it.

Red Sox fans have been pushed to the brink over the years, but that's how faith grows stronger.

I'm a writer of faith. I was raised Catholic, and I have a deeply Catholic imagination.

The poem has to bear the weight with image, language... the screenplay with dialogue, plot.

A good novel doesn't just transcend the boundaries of its target market - it knows nothing about target markets.

When a colleague of mine had a notable New York Times book, I said, turn one of the chapters in the collection into a pitch for a novel and sell it to your publisher.

The lessons learned in journalism also apply. Writing for NPR has taught me to cut a piece in half and then in half again - without losing the essence. Apply that to the swollen prose of a bulky novel and you might reveal a beautiful work.