John Updike in a Writer's Digest interview (from January, actually--I've been behind on my reading pile):

We're past the age of heroes and kings. If we can't make up stories about ordinary people, who can we make them up about? ... Most of our lives are basically mundane and dull, and it's up to the writer to find ways to make them interesting. It's a rare life so dull that no crisis ever intrudes.