I begin with an image of some sort, just as if you saw something out of a window, and then went to the window to see what it was.
I don't start with an idea or concept in the sense that I flesh out an idea or concept and set it at the center of something.
I am clearer in my mind and a bit less confused than I used to be.
I'm clearer now in what I want to say, and I know better how to say just that.
I'd say writing is easier for me now than it once was, but I do less of it.
A beginning idea for a book might be: a boy emerges from a hole in the ground. He enters a house. The book will take place in the first ten minutes following his arrival.
A book can just be a description of a stick being snapped in half. If the reader is brought to feel the plight of the stick, well, you can imagine what that would be like.
A person always has a chance to protest this or that.
I don't think anything needs to happen in a book.
Clarity is the most important thing to me - in thinking - and so I try in the books to be as clear as possible.
Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual. They are especially so in their pleasure-seeking, which is epically banal.
If Americans are to read something that is difficult, they will only do so supposing they will be admired for having done it.
As far as ideas about book design: I have plenty. But I also try and let people do their jobs.
