Quote

One good reason for writing novels based on your life is that you have something to read in old age when you've forgotten what happened.

The idea that an author can extricate her or his own ongoing life experience from the tale being written is a conceit of very little worth.

Writers shouldn't have lives that are interesting. It gets in the way of your work.

As a writer, you live in such isolation. It's hard to imagine your book has a life beyond you.

When literature exists, perhaps we do not notice how important it is, but when it does not exist, our lives become coarsened and brutal. For this reason, I am proud of my profession, but also aware of its importance.

The writing is really important in books that affect me. I read for the writing. The story is usually of less interest to me. It's the words that break your heart.

I've summarized dozens of books in my literary career; it's become rather second nature.

The odd thing about being a writer is you do tend to lose yourself in your books. Sometimes it seems like real life is flickering by and you're hardly a part of it. You remember the events in your books better than you remember the events that actually took place when you were writing them.

One thing that worried me was how writers get categorized and so they end up having to write the same kind of book again and again. That is fine if it is what you want to do, but I would rather be locked in the trunk of my car with a weasel than write the same book every three years until I die.

Literature overtakes history, for literature gives you more than one life. It expands experience and opens new opportunities to readers.