Quoted: Siri Hustvedt on writing fiction

When I am writing fiction, I am concerned with what feels right and what feels wrong. I see images in my mind as I work, just as I do when I remember. Often I use landscapes, rooms, and streets that actually exist as backdrops for the actions of my fictional characters. I am directed by the story, by the creation of a narrative that resonates for me as emotionally rather than literally true. -- Siri Hustvedt

Interestingly, when I was copying this quote into my notebook last week, I mistakenly wrote logically for literally, emotion's usual foe. Before that, I bristled with jealousy at the thought of using what feels right as a criterion for writing good fiction. I'm nowhere near there yet.