Everything in my life affects my writing. There are no separate parts of my life.

I have no special talent, you know. I never took a writing course before I began to write.

Revision is the heart of writing. Every page I do is done over seven or eight times.

All of my books are based in some way on my personal experiences, or the experiences of members of my family, or the stories kids would tell me in school.

I want to see children curled up with books, finding an awareness of themselves as they discover other people's thoughts. I want them to make the connection that books are people's stories, that writing is talking on paper, and I want them to write their own stories. I'd like my books to provide that connection for them.

When I sit and talk with a person, I'm not always paying attention. I'm looking at the person and saying, 'What is it about his or her life that appeals to me?

Outside of family, writing is essential. To me, it's like breathing.