I think that the practice of writing every day was what made me remember that writing doesn't have anything to do with publishing books. It can be totally separate and private - a comforting thought.

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

In America you make your plans and then they happen.

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.

If somebody says your story is only published because you look nice in the photo, that maybe spurs you on to write.

I can't listen to music when I'm writing. I like music best in a car or on the train.

I've always been a little bit more of a novel reader than a short story reader. I think the first books that made me want to be a writer were novels.