Nature, Or At Least Birds

I've Been An Advocate Against The View Of The Writer As A Partitioned Genius Hanging In Conceptual Space, Or Up On A Mountain, A Bringer Of Promethean Fire, Some Unique Transmission That Comes Out Of Nowhere. I Prefer The Opposite View - That Writers Come From Somewhere. They Read Things, And They Think About Them, And They Incorporate Other People's Thoughts.

One Of The Things That Novels Have Tended Not To Concentrate On Over The Centuries Is The Fact That People Read Books.

Writing Is A Private Discipline, In A Field Of Companions.

As Much As I Care About Historical Context - I'm Very Eager To Read A Really Great Historical Account.

Every Book Is A Kind Of Experiment In Doing Something That Feels Impossible.