On what good writers ought to do:

I’m often asked if there is something I think writers ought to do, and recently in an interview I heard myself say: “Several things. Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world.”

Needless to say, no sooner had these perky phrases fallen out of my mouth than I thought of some more recipes for

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When you sit down to write, it should be to figure something out. “What underlying issues is this perpetuating?” or “Why are people gravitating towards this in our current social or political time?” Why this object, this trend, this behavior, this interest, right now?