The first thing that distinguishes a writer...

INTERVIEWER

Do you need complete isolation to write or is it more portable than that?

MARTIN AMIS

I can write in the midst of—not very conveniently—but I can make progress in the midst of the usual family clamor. But it has to be said, perhaps with some regret, that the first thing that distinguishes a writer is that he is most alive when alone, most fully alive when alone. A tolerance for solitude isn’t anywhere near the full description of what really goes on. The most interesting things happen to you when you are alone. 

(More from Amis's Paris Review interview here.)