Ten Questions

“Fixed ideas are always problematic when it comes to writing fiction.” —Dani Shapiro, author of Signal Fires

“Poetry is impossible, but it is not difficult.” —Olena Kalytiak Davis, author of Late Summer Ode

“It takes a lot of intentional work to write ethical stories.”  —Hafizah Augustus Geter, author of The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin

“A terrible draft of a story is a gift, because now the real work can begin.” —Jonathan Escoffery, author of If I Survive You

“These characters have been in my head for so long that they seem more real to me than some people.” —Lauren Acampora, author of The Hundred Waters

“If you can surprise a reader with a character’s reaction, a scene will almost always work.” —Megan Giddings, author of The Women Could Fly

“I needed to live all of the change and movement and multiplicity that the book wound up being about in order to write it.” —Caylin Capra-Thomas, author of Iguana Iguana

“This book really fought me, or I fought it, for the first couple of years.” —Safia Elhillo, author of Girls That Never Die

“Write because you want to, not to define yourself for the benefit of other people.” —Maya Marshall, author of All the Blood Involved in Love

 “I wanted to write female friendship in a way that felt honest to me.” —Christine Kandic Torres, author of The Girls in Queens

“I have to lock up my phone every day—in a box designed for locking up cookies—during the hours I’m writing. Text messages ruin me.” —Lydia Conklin, author of Rainbow Rainbow

“There are plenty of hard truths in Ma and Me that were difficult to put down on the page, and then there are other truths that are mine, and mine alone, to keep.” —Putsata Reang, author of Ma and Me