“For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel.”
“I find writing novels a challenge, writing stories a joy. If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.”
“Don’t try to write a novel. Write short stories and then figure out how to connect them.”
“I tell writers not to think about writing short stories or novels. Just write one good scene. And then a novel becomes a bunch of good scenes stacked on top of each other.”
“Most people are much better at saying things in letters than in conversation, and some people can write artistic, inventive letters, but when they try a poem or story or novel they become pretentious.”
“If a writer writes poems and short stories and novels, but nobody ever reads them, is she really a writer?”