Ann Patchett

Write because you love the art and the discipline, not because you're looking to sell something.

I think people become consumed with selling a book when they need to be consumed with writing it.

Part of it is living in Tennessee. I'm so out of the loop. And as a person, I'm out of the loop. I'm oblivious by nature.

There's a whole bunch of unfinished stuff. Then I've got books of lyrics. I find it frustrating to finish a song and not be able to record it... so I don't write a million songs.

Most detective story readers are an educated audience and know there are only a certain number of plots. The interest lies in what the writer does with them.

Another thing that freaks me out is time. Time is like a book. You have a beginning, a middle and an end. It's just a cycle.