As the child outlives the father,so must the character bury the author.

How folks lay claim to a loved one is they give you a name of their own. They figure to label you as their property.

Dude, the place is filling up," I say. "It feels like we're living in the bottom half of an hourglass." Like somehow we're running out of time.

Alternating the thoughtful task of writing with the mindless work of laundry or dish washing will give you the breaks you need for new ideas and insights to occur. If you don't know what comes next in the story... clean your toilet. Change the bed sheets. For Christ sakes, dust the computer. A better idea will come.

Don't do what you want. Do what you don't want. Do what you're trained not to want. Do the things that scare you the most.

Years of living in the hope that what you'll get will be better than what you have. Years of looking and feeling worse in the hope that you might look better.

Don't rush or force the ending. All you have to know is the next scene, or the next few scenes.