“Minds greater than your own—that’s key—keep seeking out their work. And also try not to get overwrought if you can’t write on certain days. It’s not useful to beat yourself up. But I do think it’s good to make a plan and try to schedule writing time into your week if you find it difficult to sit down and do it fairly regularly.”

“My hope is that readers might recognize small pieces of themselves or human beings they know in my storytelling.”

[In loving memory.] The writer talks of translating curiosity about human behavior onto the page, the best time to write, and the magic of obsession in the early stages of creation.