Anne Tyler

“My family can always tell when I'm well into a novel because the meals get very crummy.”

“I'll write maybe one long paragraph describing the events, then a page or two breaking the events into chapters, and then reams of pages delving into my characters. After that, I'm ready to begin.”

“It struck her all at once that dealing with other human beings was an awful lot of work.”

“I do write long, long character notes - family background, history, details of appearance - much more than will ever appear in the novel. I think this is what lifts a book from that early calculated, artificial stage.”

“Not until the final draft do I force myself to remember that I'm going to have to think about how it will affect other people.”

“I've always enjoyed studying the small clues that indicate a particular class level.”