“You become a writer because you need to become a writer - nothing else.”

“Writing is hard work. But if you want to become a writer you will become one. Nothing will stop you.”

“You see, in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway."[Becoming a Writer/ The List, O Magazine, November 2009]”

“Well, you know when people are no good at anything else they become writers.”

“If you’re a writer, your first duty, a duty you owe to yourself and your readers, and to your writing itself, is to become wonderful. To become the best writer you can possibly be.”

“Becoming a better writer is going to help you become a better reader, and that is the real payoff.”