I don't mean to be flippant about cancer - it was hard, it was tough and it was scary. Then my next manuscript was about cancer because I had a whole new topic to write about. And because I wrote, it didn't take over. Writing took the chaos out of cancer.

I still write with pen and paper and have someone type it on a computer. But rewriting I do by hand.

I remember a friend many years ago who had taped a sign to his refrigerator: There's a dream dreaming us. If you try to think about what that means it makes your mind silly, but that silliness is good.

Clarity and perseverance are difficult in American society because the basis of capitalism is greed and dissatisfaction.

Finally, one just has to shut up, sit down, and write.

If you love the work, it will love you back.

Ultimately, writing is about trusting your own mind. It is an act of discovery.