I don't pare down much. I write the beginning of a story in a notebook and it comes out very close to what it will be in the end. There is not much deliberateness about it.

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.

Like a tropical storm, I, too, may one day become ‘better organized.

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.

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.

There seemed to be three choices: to give up trying to love anyone, to stop being selfish, or to learn to love a person while continuing to be selfish.