I don't *ever* write about real people. Art is supposed to be better than that. If you want a slice of life, look out the window.
This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don't consider it rejected. Consider that you've addressed it 'to the editor who can appreciate my work' and it has simply come back stamped 'Not at this address'. Just keep looking for the right address.
If you're writing, you're a writer. If you're talking about it or thinking about it, I'm not so sure. Writing is ninety-eight percent work and two percent magic.
In fact, one of the things that I really love about literary fiction is that it's one of the few kinds of writing that doesn't tell us what to think or what to buy or what to wear. We're surrounded by advertising.
I know I have to write about the things that keep me awake at night.
I write every moment that is humanly possible. I write every day and every night. The only discipline I lack is the discipline is to quit.
