“MYTH: Beautiful Writing Trumps AllREALITY: Storytelling Trumps Beautiful Writing, Every Time”

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

“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 bapt...”

“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.”

“...what draws us into a story and keeps us there is the firing of our dopamine neurons, signaling that intriguing information is on the way.”

“Just because it's fiction doesn't mean it's any less true.”

“Oh, Sweetie. No one ever gets through their TBR list. For every book you finish, you'll add five more. That's just the way it works.”

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

“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.”