Once you figure out what's best for the story, take out the rest.

Given the brevity of our time here, it does seem likely that our species, too, must have at best a blinkered understanding of the shape of things, the import of certain events and what distinguishes "good" from "bad" luck.

It's funny, for a long time I would go watermelon-red and deny that I was a magical realist. It felt imprecise to me, a misrepresentation.

I moved to New York with the derangement of love. I was writing all these terrible stories, but I had never been happier.

For me, the term "literary fiction" means there's always attention paid to language, and linguistic experimentation, sophistication.

I really try to write every day. It's hard, but it's my favorite thing to do. So, it's usually not too, too hard.

Self-disciplin e is necessary, but so is playfulness, flexibility, joy. When you stop demanding perfection of yourself, your writing desk will become a spacious place.