-: Oh, I suppose what I like most
is just the sense that I'm doing what I should be doing.
And I'm sure that's tied to it being part of your DNA.
The satisfaction, I think any artist,
and this might be true for anyone who feels a calling
to do whatever they do.
Even if it's not going well,
even if you've thrown out more writing
in a day than you've kept,
there's a sense, I'm supposed to be here.
I'm doing the thing I was meant to do.
And that's very satisfying.
And even the struggle to get a sentence right
or to force yourself to throw out something
that you're sort of in love with
but you know it doesn't belong,
that's still all part of the craft.
And so to be a craftsperson who's allowed to practice
her craft is delightful and rewarding.
You know, the down side is you are a public person.
I sometimes joke with friends
when they're having a bad day at work,
I said well yeah, but the New York Times isn't gonna write
about what a lousy day you had at work.
If I screw up, it's gonna be in the New York Times!
And it's also so completely opposite
from the sort of private world of working with words.
So there is always that jewel part of your personality
that you have to be in some ways a public person
when your true self is a private person,
sort of inside your head all the time.