The Function Of A Great Library Is

When I First Wanted To Be A Writer, I Learned To Write Prose By Reading Poetry.

Writing Has To Do With Truth-telling. When You're Writing, Let's Say, An Essay For A Magazine, You Try To Tell The Truth At Every Moment. You Do Your Best To Quote People Accurately And Get Everything Right. Writing A Novel Is A Break From That: Freedom. When You're Writing A Novel, You Are In Charge; You Can Beef Things Up.

The Job Of The Novel Is To Be True To The Confusion, But Not So Confusing That You Turn The Reader Off.

There Is No Good Word For Stomach; Just As There Is No Good Word For Girlfriend. Stomach Is To Girlfriend As Belly Is To Lover, And As Abdomen Is To Consort, And As Middle Is To Petite Amie.

Sometimes I'll Spend An Hour Writing A Tiny Email. I Work On It Until I've Created The Illusion That I've Dashed It Off In Three Minutes. If I Make A Typo, I Let It Stand. Sometimes In Fact I Correct The Typo Without Thinking, And Then I Back Up And Retype The Typo So That It'll Look More Casual. I Don't Know Why.