Looking back, I think that my best writing has been the kind that just seemed to float up to the surface of my mind on its own schedule, when it was formed and ready.—Mary Yukari Waters, interviewed by interviewed by Sherry Ellis

Every book takes you to the terror, that terrible place of possible failure.—Sandra Cisneros, interviewed by Robert Birnbaum

In fact, a strong sense of place is crucial to my writing process, precisely because it gives me something to attach imaginatively to long before I know all the quirks and habits of my characters.—Frederick Reiken, interviewed by Eric Wasserman

I think that many writers today study writing, but they haven't necessarily spent time in other workplaces, and I think this kind of intensity is hard to imagine unless you have put in months and years.—Perri Klass, interviewed by Charlotte Templin

The truth is that you can say most of what you want to say about human beings and their behavior with a relatively limited number of characters if you send them through enough fiery hoops.—Charles Baxter, interviewed by Jennifer Levasseur and Kevin Rabalais