“I mean, I was never a depressed person,” he says. “I've always been basically optimistic. I see great beauty in the world. You know, I look around and it's a fucking awesome beautiful place. That's how I've always felt. I'm not saying this is some kind of thing at the moment—I've always looked at the world in that way.… Writing is basically an act of love, and a kind of joyful thing to do. That quickening of the heart that comes when you're onto something. I mean, I get all kind of shaky and stuff like that. It's an immensely positive act, nothing to do with sadness or depression or any of these sorts of things, no matter what you're writing about.”
