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 for months and it never comes together.

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 try.

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, Jim Magnuson, and Elizabeth McCracken.

I want to be able to discuss craft but I also want to teach writers to trust their instincts and learn to listen to themselves above all others.

You don't need a dead father to explain a character's sadness. And impressing yourself with wit/cleverness often feels like what it is - authorial intrusion.

I will learn your anger. I will lick your sadness.I will feast on your hunger.

I'm a doofus from the Valley, a blue-collar guy.

Thai society rarely attempts to control literature in the same way that it vigilantly polices visual art. It's ironic because people in this society are more aware of literature than they are of art.

If you want to do your duty properly, you should do just a little more than that.

Those who walk with God always reach their destination.

Writing fiction, like reading fiction, is a practice in empathy.

I don't want Democrats in the boardroom and I don't want Republicans in the bedroom.

It is a good idea to know which publishers publish which stories. For example, there is no sense in sending a picture book text to a publisher who does not publish picture books.

I don't know secret to success, but I'm pretty sure the closest thing is preparation

I think it was very informative, but a lot still needs to be done.