If Anybody Had Shown Me The Paperwork

Fiction Is Always Really A Labor.

I Don't Believe In Fate, As In, Which I - As A Catholic, I Think, Sort Of Predestination. But I Certainly Believe In Chance.

Coming Back Is The Thing That Enables You To See How All The Dots In Your Life Are Connected, How One Decision Leads You Another, How One Twist Of Fate, Good Or Bad, Brings You To A Door That Later Takes You To Another Door, Which Aided By Several Detours--long Hallways And Unforeseen Stairwells--eventually Puts You In The Place You Are Now.

You Can't Be A Good Person When You're Writing And A Bad Person To Your Husband Or A Bad Friend. You Can't Be A Jerk In Order To Be A Good Writer. You Can't Say, "i'm Too Busy Writing To Be Political." You Are One Person. You Are The Same Person In Every Aspect Of Your Life, And You Have To Be A Responsible Person In Every Aspect Of Your Life.

When Well Told, A Story Captured The Subtle Movement Of Change. If A Novel Was A Map Of A Country, A Story Was The Bright Silver Pin That Marked The Crossroads.