I think the most important quality for a writer to have is empathy.

I think writers are born, not made.

I loved the 'Three Stooges.' I still do - nyuk, nyuk.

If I could visit dead authors, I'd head right over to E. B. White, though I'm so in awe of him I'd probably just sit at his feet and weep. He's the master of clarity, of understated humor, of palatable political conviction.

Life is so fragile, so brief. And we seemingly work so hard at trying to ignore that.

When I write, I operate as a writer and a reader both - I never know what's going to happen.

Ideas come from life: what happens in mine, what I see happening in others', mixed with a great deal of imagination. I might see a person in a grocery store and build a whole character and life out of what's in her basket.

I don't really like questions about the writing process, because the truth is I don't know how I write.

With 'Durable Goods,' I meant only to write about being an army brat. What emerged was a story about compassion - the need for it, the expression of it.

I think titles are extremely important for novels: They can set the tone, tip you off, serve as shorthand for what the essential contents are.