I don’t want anyone in my stories to be a joke or a punchline—that wouldn’t be fair to the person they are. I wrote some of these stories when I was very angry…, but if I wrote my anger into the story, it would be just a rant or a diatribe. And that’s not what I want at all. I want real people, doing the best they can. For me, that’s really the heart of all writing, whether it be fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction.… more
