I can't remember who said it - I think it was Allan Gurganus when he was visiting the Michener Center - but he told us to "spend [our] gold," meaning….

I don't know what people want, really. Does somebody have to die? What is meant by resolution? These are questions that I don't quite know what to do….

Good writing, in my opinion, is writing that looks really easy, so easy that a person who has never written more than a grocery list might convince t….

There are many stories I've wanted to write that I'm simply not able to - sometimes I haven't found the way in yet, and it doesn't matter how hard I ….

It's difficult for me to imagine any scene differently because I've read the book so many times. The book, as a whole, seems like a document that wou….

I've learned a lot about language from reading slush. You can immediately tell if a writer is in control of the narrative. This writer will avoid usi….

I think training your instinct comes from writing and reading. There's no big secret. And reading slush helps, as well; I'd recommend everyone edit a….

Some of the things I liked in my years as a student in workshops: the occasional in-class prompt; discussions about what it means to be a writer in t….

It's something that's difficult to explain but I think all writers work this way to some extent, whether we're aware of it or not. For me, writing ha….

There's definitely a magical quality to writing that can't be explained. I can write something I love in two days, or I can work on a story every day….

To be quite honest, along with thinking and such when it comes to writing, I'm not into words like "theory." I'm a PhD dropout. No matter how many tw….

I try to think as little as possible, at least while working. I look at some of my early stories and can see the machination behind them, like a gear….

Perhaps adding a line or two of dialogue to try to better capture an emotion. But I've found that if the story isn't there in the beginning, right fr….

Sometimes the way comes later, when I'm not working or thinking about it at all. When stories don't work, you try to convince yourself that all of th….

I suppose this is, essentially, my perspective on life. Just because we've made mistakes and learned things from them intellectually doesn't mean we ….

I've learned so much from my professors and have been fortunate to have had so many good ones, including Frederick and Steven Barthelme, Edward Carey….

I also liked it when professors assigned us stories that they love. In general, I liked workshops more when they were more than just a workshop, when….

There were definitely scenes I struggled with more than others: the car accident and the thunderstorm are two that come to mind. It's difficult to wr….

I don't revise a lot when writing short stories. As far as the novel, I definitely thought more about plot. Honestly, I'm still pretty confused about….

I haven't taught creative writing all that much (my CW teaching consists of a few summer workshops for elementary school children and an eight-week c….

"There is no analysis here," the most brutal of them wrote. Now I wonder if my papers lacked critical thought, or if it was really more about my inab….