To be simple, I would say a story has to have a bit of narrative, if only "she says," and then enough of a creation of a different time and place to transport the reader.

Do what you want to do, and don't worry if it's a little odd or doesn't fit the market.

Why don't you like the foods I like?" he asks sometimes. "Why don't you like the foods I make?" I answer.

If you think of something, do it. Plenty of people often think, “I’d like to do this, or that.

Like a tropical storm, I, too, may one day become ‘better organized.

There seemed to be three choices: to give up trying to love anyone, to stop being selfish, or to learn to love a person while continuing to be selfish.

My stories are sometimes closer to poems or meditations, but often there is at least a little narrative in them.

Art is not in some far-off place.

Work hard and meticulously. When in trouble, look closely at a text that is a good example of what you're trying to do. And be patient.

I'm a fierce editor! I don't edit out things that I began by saying, usually. The editing is on the micro level - a comma here, a word there.

I do see an interest in writing for Twitter. While publishers still do love the novel and people do still like to sink into one, the very quick form is appealing because of the pace of life.

In the morning there is meaning, in the evening there is feeling.

Wisdom is not guaranteed with age but is realized through one's sensitivity to humanity and the universe

"Nags" nag because they feel they aren't being heard.

Life is not about what you can accumulate. I learned to live when I learned to give.

I'm not ashamed to tell the truth about what happened in my family. I think that's what makes my comedy different.

I write box notes for Kino International, which specializes in distributing foreign films.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

It is a fair summary of history to say that the safeguards of liberty have been forged in controversies involving not very nice people.

I'm excited to win a pole at Atlanta, one of the tracks you look forward to qualifying at every single year, and really happy to beat Ryan Newman, who is hard to beat here.

In the coldest February, as in every other month in every other year, the best thing to hold on to in this world is each other.