The lady was old, the lady was ill. It didn't matter what the lady believed.

13.5 Mrs. Wolfe asks whether Mr. Iqbal expects her Susan to undertake compulsory headstands. 13.6 Mr. Iqbal infers that, considering Susan's academic performance and weight problems, a headstand regime might be desirable.

My short stories have always pushed twenty pages. That's no length for a short story to be. You either do them short like Carver or you stop trying.

I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.

Surely there is something to be said for drawing a circle around our attention and remaining within that circle. But how large should this circle be?

Make sure the lubricant is unscented. Don't join fashionable 'schools of thought.' Read everything.

I'm most honest about writing when I'm talking to family or friends, not to newspapers.