“Before there were books, we read each other.”

“Each thing you add to your story is a drop of paint falling into clear water; it spreads through and colors everything.”

“You cherry-pick events that are relevant to the story question and construct a gauntlet of challenge (read: the plot) that will force the protagonist to put his money where his mouth is. Think baptism by ever-escalating fire.”

“Stories not only give us a much needed practice on figuring out what makes people tick, they give us insight into how we tick.”

“If I ask you to think about something, you can decide not to. But if I make you feel something? Now I have your attention.”

“The thing about love is that we can't control whether we get it, but we can control whether we give it. And each feels as good as the other. Your heart doesn't know if it's loving a man, a book, or a puppy. If your heart were that smart, it would be your brain.”

“First, if Francis were around today, he'd say our church community relies too much on words to tell others about our faith. For Francis, the gathered community was as potent a form of witness as words. He was convinced that how we live together is what attracts people to faith.”