I think the voice can carry a story.
When I teach, I try to assign writers from whom I can learn.
I'm suspicious of epiphanies, because they so rarely last.
I tend to listen to my friends and family empathetically, and I try to help work through their problems from the inside. I try to adopt their thinking.
Being a reporter took me out of myself and that shaped me as a writer.
I believe that we can access stories, and voices from those around us, more easily often than from our own imperfect memories.