As the writer, I may choose to ignore the emotional heart of the matter, and focus on details, and trust that the heart of the matter will be conveyed nevertheless.

To be simple, I would say a story has to have a bit of narrative, if only "she says," and then enough of a creation of a different time and place to transport the reader.

Because I'm not writing all the time (thank goodness), my mind is sometimes pleasantly blank.

My stories are sometimes closer to poems or meditations, but often there is at least a little narrative in them.

I find teaching - I like it, but I find just walking into the classroom and facing the students very difficult.

I think the close work I do as a translator pays off in my writing - I'm always searching for multiple ways to say things.

If you think of something, do it. Plenty of people often think, “I’d like to do this, or that.