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.

Research for fiction is a funny thing: you go looking for one piece of information, and find something altogether different.

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

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.

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

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

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.