I burned through all of my extra lives in a matter of minutes, and my two least-favorite words appeared on the screen: GAME OVER.

I was just starting out, trying to become a screenwriter, and I became the Austin slam champion three times. For a nerdy, kind of a socially awkward guy, that did wonders for my self esteem.

I think it's a bit silly to brand the Internet as the 'downfall of youth.'

I've heard Stephen King say that when you write a novel you end up revealing everything about yourself.

I was 7 years old when the '80s began and 17 years old when they ended, so it was an incredibly formative decade for me.

Being human totally sucks most of the time. Videogames are the only thing that make life bearable.

As we continued to talk, going through the motions of getting to know each other, I realized that we already did know each other, as well as any two people could. We’d known each other for years, in the most intimate way possible. We’d connected on a purely mental level. I understood her, trusted her, and loved her as a dear friend. None of that had changed, or could be changed by anything as inconsequential as her gender, or skin color, or sexual orientation.