If you focus on the humanity of your stories, your characters, then the horror will be stronger, scarier. Without the humanity, the horror becomes nothing more than a tawdry parlor trick. All flash and no magic, and worst of all, no heart.

The recipe for great art has always been misery and a good bowel movement.

Writing a story, regardless of length, begins always with a single word.

A migraine is the cockblock of writing.

Writers often torture themselves trying to get the words right. Sometimes you must lower your expectations and just finish it.

But people in a small town tend to do a lot of talking, even when they don’t know what they’re talking about.

It’s hard to land a devastating jab/cross/hook/uppercut combo to your reader’s imagination when you’re telegraphing your punches.