Toddlers can make you feel as if you have violated some archaic law in their personal Koran and you should die, infidel.

The whistle is always waiting to be blown, and in some ways, it gets me to do better work.

Evangelical Christians and I can sit down and talk one on one about how much we love Jesus, and yet I'm not carried in Christian bookstores.

Presents can make up for some of the disappointments that life doles out, such as it makes almost no sense and is coming to an end more quickly than ever.

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.

I don't have very sophisticated taste in music. I listen to a lot of folk music. I like reggae.

Because this business of becoming conscious, of being a writer, is ultimately about asking yourself, How alive am I willing to be?