He pulled away, but his eyes held my eyes like hands.

Don't wait to be sure. Move, move, move.

I was a lot dumber when I was writing the novel. I felt like worse of a writer because I wrote many of the short stories in one sitting or over maybe three days, and they didn't change that much. There weren't many, many drafts. That made me feel semi-brilliant and part of a magical process. Writing the novel wasn't like that. I would come home every day from my office and say, "Well, I still really like the story, I just wish it was better written." At that point, I didn't realize I was writing a first draft. And the first draft was the hardest part.

I really did not feel okay about any of this, and there was really nothing I could do about any of it.

The word God asks a question and then answers it before there is any chance to wonder.

A more normal, mature way to think about it [my work] would be, Oh, I work on multiple projects at once and they overlap, but the actual psychology of it is a lot more self-abusing.

I am very sincere. Some people are always kidding, so when you're not, it's going to seem annoying to them.