Most of my characters aren't hillbillies anyway. Let's just call them proletariat with a disposition towards criminal activity.

I'm always writing about character first. Plot, such as it is, comes from the characters.

I always gravitate towards anything from Ireland. With Irish lit, I love the use of language, but also in many instances, the Irish writers are writing about people and circumstances that I can relate to.

I've bumped into at least three people in town who all insist 'Winter's Bone' is about them.

I think my grandmother Woodrell was most responsible for my becoming a writer. She wasn't quite literate, but was very proud that she attended school as far as the third grade. She worked as a maid, housekeeper and cook.

One of the interesting things about the Ozarks is you just about don't have street crime. It's strictly between people who know each other. It really isn't indiscriminate; it's kind of between themselves.