“When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away.”

“As a writer, I demand the right to write any character in the world that I want to write. I demand the right to be them, I demand the right to think them and I demand the right to tell the truth as I see they are.”

“Look, don't just stare at the pages," I used to tell my students. "Become the characters. Live inside the book.”

“Just when I figured out how to quiet the characters in my head, the multiple stories my creative muse wants me to write started screaming for attention!”

“I wanted to hide away and write. I wanted to meet characters who would climb up my pen. I wanted to create a completely new world, inventing everyone and everything.”

“I felt suddenly shy. I was not used to shy. I was used to shame. Shyness is when you turn your head away from something you want. Shame is when you turn your head away from something you do not want.”