Where I grew up, in the Detroit area, there was a really good station. Sometimes you would hear songs for the first time on the radio, and if a really special song came on, somebody would turn it up, and everybody would just stop talking.
— Mary Gaitskill
Three writers together would be a nightmare of obstreperous self-consciousness.
When I was writing 'Bad Behavior,' I was very, very quiet. I would just sit there and listen to people. And if I was out in public, I was usually quiet, and people tended to assume I was stupid because I was a young, pretty girl who's quiet.
I didn't start thinking about what I wanted to do professionally until I was 17. I was a hippie, but I did write.
Married, you're basically part of the herd, and that makes life easier in a lot of ways in terms of social support. But if you're not by nature a herd animal, you start to feel like you're passing.
Anne Frank's diary made a very big impression on me at age 12 or so.
The hard truth is that there are people who believe they're writers and work hard at it and are sincere about it, but they don't make it. You have to be prepared for that possibility.
I wanted to communicate and connect. I simply didn't seem able to do it.
I loved to read and would read anything that roused my interest, whether it was below my age level or above it, even if I could barely make sense of it.
I think that with the proliferation of writing programs, people tend to forget that you also have to get used to working alone, and you have to be your own support.
