I try not to divide plot and character. I get to know a character by what they want and fear and how those internal forces play out in their lives.

If men are paid/praised more than women for the same work than it always pays to allow the man to have more freedom to pour himself into his work - think of athletes, actors over the age of 28, lawyers, accountants, college deans.

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.

One of the reasons I write in different genres is that I get to have the feeling - even fleetingly - that I'm not just writing like Baggott again. I can escape myself.

Weakness, like not being able to bury the past. Weakness, like not giving up hope when you know you should.

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

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