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I think one can be more honest in fiction than in a memoir.

Writing a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth.

Well I'm not a novelist. I've only written one book and that is a memoir.

I will say, with memoir, you must be honest. You must be truthful.

Fiction is a lie that is told in the service of truth.

There is a lot of scepticism today as to whether memoir is real. But when fiction is done at a certain level there is scepticism as to whether it is really fiction.

A memoir is always the most authentic telling of a situation, but a novel gets to different places.

I love writing both fiction and memoir. Both have unique challenges; bottom line, fiction is hard because you have to come up with the credible, twisty plot, and memoir is hard because you have to say something true and profound, albeit in a funny way.

A fine memoir is to a fine novel as a well-wrought blanket is to a fancifully embroidered patchwork quilt. The memoir, a logical creation, dissects and dignifies reality. Fiction, wholly extravagant, magnifies it and gives it moral shape. Fiction has no practical purpose. Fiction, after all, is art.