I am always urging my students to honor their writing practice, to set up a schedule.

This is what I have come to know: Our past is never passed and there is no such thing as moving on. But there is this telling and there is such a thing as passing through.

The adolescent protagonist is one of the hallmarks of American literature.

Secret families are really the bedrock issue of Western literature.

When I am writing a story it feels as real as the life I am experiencing off the page. It's an emotional illusion, I guess.

It's funny how three or four notes of anger can be struck at once, creating the perfect chord of fury.

People say, That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But they are wrong. What doesn't kill you doesn't kill you. That's all you get. Sometimes, you just have to hope that's enough.