Whether you're acting or you're writing, your skin is just basically ripped off and you're putting yourself out there. At least the acting part comes with a bit more social interaction. And you're a bit less isolated because you are working with the director and the crew, and there's a general camaraderie. Writing, you're totally isolated. You're just trying to get the words on paper.

Brownstein's is a fresh and jaunty voice, with a jazz snap all his own.

I think in a lot of ways, writing, when you're really in there, is like being an actress because you're in somebody else's head.

The older a woman gets, the more invisible you become.

I felt my whole life was a facsimile of a life.

I think the sixties must have been quite a lot of fun.

If you want to be a writer, all you need is a piece of paper and a pencil, and I had a manual typewriter. It doesn't cost money to write. It costs money to make art. So I would just write. I would hand out stories in the classes in high school. And the teacher would say, "Whatever you do, don't become a writer."