Author Mentorship Quotes

Anthony Powell taught me to write; he has such brilliant control of the mechanics of the novel.

I once made the mistake of writing a story with David Corbett. The man smoked me. He can delineate the character and personality of an accordion in three strokes. I didn't even know accordions had character. This act of generosity and wisdom from a very good writer will help anyone who is staring at a blank page, any day, any time. Highly recommended.

For me, it's been a treat to interact with authors who were publishing when I was a young reader. Judy Blume once gave me a pep talk at a writing conference. I had a short story featured in the same anthology as Beverly Cleary. Magic.

If I could chat with anyone, it would be Claire Messud, because I think she could tell me how to get better as a writer as I age.

I love seeing the light go on in aspiring writers' eyes when you point out ways to improve their prose or their story - when they get it.

Milan Kundera was my literature professor. He's a Francophile, so he made us read French novels like 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses,' which I made a version of many years later as 'Valmont.'

Nothing is so beneficial to a young author as the advice of a man whose judgment stands constitutionally at the freezing-point.

What I teach is literary criticism and comparative literature and so on and that's my function, but from time to time it's possible for me actually to help a writer. I read something and something strikes me then, I feel I can talk to that writer about it.

I wrote my first 30 books as a teacher. I would read to my classes, and they'd give me feedback. I was trying to role model.