It's hard enough to make a novel a novel. I wouldn't know how to make it something else at the same time

When I moved to SF in my early 20s, I loved it, but I was absolutely astonished to discover that people there hated L.A. I was just like why? Really? I had no idea.

The novelist is frequently considered to be an impediment.

Every snotty egotistical teenager thinks they're smarter than the world they crawled out of. It didn't take me so long to grow out of that. I think I was only in my early twenties when I realized I was just relying on received ideas.

I think being central to the culture is overrated. Who really gives a damn if something is popular? Jay-Z isn't actually any better than James Joyce even though more people understand him.

Even though I think writers can sometimes thrive from being misread. It can give them something to push off of.

My parents were very patient with my pretentious little adolescent snobberies. It took me awhile to accept them.