My Work Is To Know The Characters

Writers Are Socially Observant. We Find People Endlessly Fascinating, And Real Life Is Mysterious. Sometimes It's Hard To Stop Staring At The Strut And Squawk Of My Fellow Man. They Can Be Quite Inspiring. Sometimes It's Hard To Stop Talking To Them To See What In The World They're Thinking.

You Want The Greatest Trick For Writing A Novel? Here It Is: Imagine Urgently Whispering Your Story Into One Person's Ear - And Only One. This One Visualization Will Clarify Every Word Choice You Make.

Love Is A Luxury. It's Something That People Are Allowed To Indulge In When They're Not Simply Trying To Survive And Keep Other People Alive.

I Have Faith In Human Beings. I Struggle With That Faith.

First, You Hand Over Some Basics-overwhelming Joy, Existential Angst, A Giving-in To Desire, Etc. And Then You Promise To Withstand Talking Idly About The Weather, To Encourage Cliché, To Uphold The Virtues Of Average. You Hand Over The Need To Be Understood And, In Return, You Get A Bar Of Normal Soap. And You Can Wash In It And Be Daily Reborn To A Safe World Of Modest, Enduring Love Or, At Least, Mild, Well-mannered Bonding.