I would never want to write a character who was not thoroughly herself or himself. She's a very specific creature in my mind, and she has her thoughts, which range from skin to American history, philosophy, and the arts.

I think many writers really believe that being published is a traumatic experience.

I think it's very hard to reconcile oneself to the notion that it may not matter what you think if you still want to write.

Whatever the style is, I want to have a sense that the writer is thinking, and really trying to get at something, and that there's a sense of discovery as the writing goes along.

You know how some people are upwardly mobile? I'm sort of downwardly mobile in the publishing world, because of my sales figures and also because of the kind of books I write. Everything really counts on sales. I started out with a bigger press, my first few books. But I've always done some things with independent and small presses and small magazines and I always will.

People, no matter the economic class, find ways to feed their narcissism.

There are lots of unlikable characters in literature. It doesn't mean they're not fascinating.