I don't write literary fiction - I write books that are entertaining but are also I hope well-constructed and thoughtful and funny and have things to say about men and women and families and children and life in America today.

I have no agenda except to be funny. Neither I or the writers profess to offer any worldly wisdom.

When I was younger I wanted to be a big movie star who'd get to be funny on talk shows and then I wanted to retire and write science fiction.

Movies don't look hard but figuring it out getting the shape of it getting everybody's character right and having it be funny make sense and be romantic it's creating a puzzle. Yes having been a writer for so long I have an awareness of when things are going awry but it doesn't mean I know how to fix them.

It's funny in a way the actor is a writer. It's not like the two things are so separate as to be like apples and oranges. The writer and the actor are one.

And I think that being able to make people laugh and write a book that's funny makes the information go down a lot easier and it makes it a lot more fun to read easier to understand and often stronger. So there's all kinds of advantages to it.

I remember listening to the radio as a kid and finding that the songs always made me feel more peaceful. Funny but the more hurtin' the music was the better it made me feel. I think of that now when I write my songs. I may not be feelin' the blues myself but I'm writing them for other people who have a hard life.

I love weird or funny or beautiful sentences Joy Williams could write a microwave-oven manual and I'm sure I'd love it because the sentences would be tuned up like music.

The most important thing is to write material that YOU think is funny. If you don't think it's funny but you're convinced that other people will think it is well they won't.

The funny thing is that I write and I act a lot about being Jewish but I don't really think about it as a regular person.

You know how it is with writing. You just write what you want to write. There's no way to predict what is good or bad. You just do what you think is funny and either it works or you're finished. It's impossible to predict anything.

Who knew Rob Lowe was funny? On 'Parks and Rec ' we've got some of the funniest comedy writers some of the funniest comedians in the world working there. And if anything we don't just effuse to one another and be like 'Oh Rob Lowe's really funny ' if he wasn't.

If it's inappropriate to write about if there's nothing funny about it then it's not funny.

We all know funny people who can't get it down on the page - even funny writers who can't get it down on the page.

I write about wounds the eternal treasons of life. It's not very funny but it's sincere. My commitment is to sincerity.

I wouldn't totally rule out doing Letterman or the Tonight Show if I had a set that I just happened to write that I thought was funny but was still appropriate for network censors. But I'm not going to go out of my way.

I didn't plan to be the rude middle-class comedian. You write a certain type of joke that you find funny and mine happen to be often rude. Yes it's juvenile but that's me.

We've got a bunch of new writers now who tell me they grew up watching The Simpsons. It's bizarre and they're writing some very funny stuff.

It's funny. People often compare me to other humor essayists. They're usually quite nice comparisons I will accept those gladly. But I am always sort of appalled at the idea of being lumped with other more chick-y female writers. And the truth is probably that neither comparison is accurate.

Some of the writers I admire who seem very very funny and very emotional to me can develop a closeness with the reader without giving too much of themselves away. Lorrie Moore comes to mind as does David Sedaris. When they write the reader thinks that they're being trusted as a friend.

As a writer or as a filmmaker you have to present yourself and part of what yourself is is what you're interested in or what you think is funny or what you think is sad or what you think is horrible.

I don't hate humanity and I'm not interested in people who do. Although it's funny actually some of my favorite writers really do. Like Martin Amis. My dirty secret. 'London Fields' is one of my favorite books ever. And it's indefensible! But he's so funny... I forgive him everything.

The reason why you know more funny dudes than funny chicks is that dudes are funnier than chicks. If my daughter has a mediocre sense of humor I'm just gonna tell her 'Be a staff writer for a sitcom. Because they'll have to hire you they can't really fire you and you don't have to produce that much. It'll be awesome.'

People don't want to listen to a celebrity tweeting about their charities and shows. That's why comedy writers do well - we put out little funny ideas.