Writers are socially observant. We find people endlessly fascinating, and real life is mysterious. Sometimes it's hard to stop staring at the strut and squawk of my fellow man. They can be quite inspiring. Sometimes it's hard to stop talking to them to see what in the world they're thinking.

She glances back before stepping into the alley, and she catches her grandfather looking at her the way he does sometimes--as if she's already gone, as if he's practicing sorrow.

Beauty, you can find it here if you look hard enough.

Different genres allow me to not feel so hemmed in by my own voice, tics, style.

Literature has done great work for feminism - writing and reading are a practice of empathy - and great literature will continue to do so.

I've never thought there was anything I could hope to get by praying for it.

You want the greatest trick for writing a novel? Here it is: imagine urgently whispering your story into one person's ear - and only one. This one visualization will clarify every word choice you make.