I love to live things, so I wanted to immerse myself and get into the mindset - and sandals - of my forefathers.

After a while, if you're committed, you start to believe in the things in which you're praying. It's just cognitive dissonance. You can't live a completely religious life and not start to have it sink in.

One of the interesting things to me is that God grows throughout the Old Testament. He evolves, sort of matures, and becomes kinder.

Taking the Bible too literally is a mistake. It should be read as a guidebook of wisdom and insight.

I found there were things about religion that I really loved; things like the sense of gratefulness that it brings.

I’d recommend learning to accept rejection. Become friends with rejection. Be nice to rejection, because it’s a huge part of being a writer, no matter where you are in your career.

The key to making healthy decisions is to respect your future self. Honor him or her. Treat him or her like you would treat a friend or a loved one.