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What's on the page dictates a lot of what I do. When the words are there, it's easy.

I love arranging the words and having them fall on the ear the right way, and you know you're not quite there, and you're redoing it and redoing it, and there's a wonderful thrill to it. But it is hard. It's a job of tremendous anxiety for me.

My goal is to strip things down so that you need just the right amount of words or shape to convey what you need to convey. I like editing. I like it very tight.

I find words really hard.

I swear and it comes off a little angry, no matter how funny I'm trying to do it. If I use certain words with a certain intensity, it's like 'Whoa whoa whoa, buddy buddy!'

Once they're on paper, they're gone. I like to do as much with the words, as far as image goes.

The way you get better is putting words on the page and getting them behind you.

Take it not amiss, O speech, that I borrow weighty words, and later try hard to make them seem light.