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.
Something that is yours forever is never precious
I don't work on my Sabbath. I write five-and-a-half or six days a week.
I'm constantly revising. Once the book is written and typed, I go through the entire draft again.
But today we become aware of other readings of the human experience very quickly because of the media and the speed with which people travel the planet.
I think most serious writers, certainly in the modern period, use their own lives or the lives of people close to them or lives they have heard about as the raw material for their creativity.