“I always rewrite the very beginning of a novel. I rewrite the beginnin...” — Joyce Carol Oates Quote

“I always rewrite the very beginning of a novel. I rewrite the beginning as I write the ending, so I may spend part of morning writing the ending, the last 100 pages approximately, and then part of the morning revising the beginning. So the style of the novel has a consistency.”

“The cleaning is something I use as a reward if I get some work done. I go into a very happy state of mind when I'm vacuuming.”

“A writer can't subtract or excise any of his/her past because doing so would erase the work produced during that time.”

“Normal people don't just wake up in the morning and say I think it'd be a good idea to run for president of the United States.”

“I wake up every morning new, free as a bird.”

“What will make you energized and motivated, to be awesome today? Is it an awesome shower in the morning, is it a great breakfast, is it a beautiful view? Or is it all of those things together.”