I realized the only thing I owed my audience was my own judgment and my own best effort.

Were there stories I wrote along the way that were terrible clinkers? God, yes. But they were all a product of their time, and I did the best I could.

I'm a neurotic New York Jew by birth. Creating characters is second nature to me.

Sometimes you're not even sure which of your stories were failures. There are things I've written that I thought were complete catastrophes when I finished with them that have gone on to generate some of my most positive feedback.

I've never had to work out of the arts. I've always either been a writer or an editor, or something where I've made my living from doing what I love. You can't get any better than that.

I've always been the audience that I wanted to reach, so I write for myself.

What makes a story is how well it manages to connect with the reader, the visceral effect it has.