“At its best, the sensation of writing is that of any unmerited grace. It is handed to you, but only if you look for it. You search, you break your heart, your back, your brain, and then--and only then--it is handed to you.”

“Search your own life for the story only you can tell. The best thing about writing from life is that you can be sure of using original material. And no research is needed beyond the time you spend looking deep inside your own heart.”

“When you die, are you ever allowed to come back?""Only if you had your hand stamped...”

“You put your hand on Corinne's back like this again and I'm breaking your fingers.”

“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling "This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!"And each day, it's up to you, to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say "No. This is what's important.”

“The only thing that holds you back is your certainty that your abilities are limited. You need to break that belief.”