Most good fiction also has a character the writer seems to know more deeply than anyone can actually be known in life, but a few unusual writers can make something great without that.

Alice Munro is a particular kind of short story writer in that she writes long, character-driven short stories.

I think the few writers who influenced me most in writing short stories are Alice Munro and Grace Paley. They're very different, and I can't do what they do, but reading them gives me hope that I'll learn something from them.

I like it when someone gives me a new book of poetry by a poet I haven't read.

Most good fiction also has a character the writer seems to know more deeply than anyone can actually be known in life, but a few unusual writers can make something great without that.

I think, in general, it's better not to respond to reviews of your work.

It's usually easier for me to begin writing in a character's voice if that person is different from me in some significant way.