And yet there are some magnificent things from Freud, profound insights into the nature of man.

If I had a plot that was all set in advance, why would I want go through the agony of writing the novel? A novel is a kind of exploration and discovery, for me at any rate.

I think the hardest part of writing is revising. And by that I mean the following: A novelist has to create the piece of marble and then chip away to find the figure in it.

I think that to a very great extent we are partners with the divine in this enterprise called history. That is an ongoing relationship, and there is absolutely no guarantee that things will automatically work out to our best advantage.

That's what Twitter is: a very negative place.

As a follower of Jesus, I am called to work for justice and reconciliation, and to be an advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves. I plan to focus my future work on human rights and religious freedom - both domestic and international - as well as matters of the culture and the American family.

I would rather write poems than prose, any day, any place. Yet each has its own force.

I don't know if there's any change more significant that a human being can make than that of a woman becoming a mother. There's no change more dramatic.