Meg Wolitzer is the author of THE FEMALE PERSUASION and THE INTERESTINGS and a bunch of other books. On Thursday, October 24, she held a Q&A at the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing at Butler University. Since you couldn’t make it, I took notes for you. The quotes below are as precise as I could make them, but keep in mind that she talks fast and I write slow.

A story that sounds like an episode from the Bible in which a Pharisee asks Jesus a question:

One time [at another Q&A] a woman told me her daughter wanted to be a playwright. The woman said, “I know how tough that world can be, how tough it is to make it. I’m scared for her. What should I tell her?” I said, “Is she talented?” and the woman said she was. I said, “Is she burning to do it?” and the woman said she was. “Then you should encourage her to do it,” I said. “The world will whittle her down, but a mother never should.”

On talent vs. hard work:

The truth about writing is this: If you work hard for a long time, you’ll get pretty good. You’ll see more clearly. You’ll see the difference between what works and what doesn’t work. You’ll see what you can really do, and what you won’t ever be able to do.