If you don't have people that the reader cares about and stories that are gripping, you've got nothing.

Structural dissatisfaction: Returning to circumstances that once pleased you, after having experienced a more thrilling or opulent way of life, and finding that you can no longer tolerate them.

That adage about 'Write what you know' is basically the opposite of the way I function. I write about what I'm curious to find out.

Everyone we've lost, we'll find. Or they'll find us.

Sure, everything is ending," Jules said, "but not yet.

We stand there, quiet. My questions all seem wrong: How did you get so old? Was it all at once, in a day, or did you peter out bit by bit? When did you stop having parties? Did everyone else get old too, or was it just you? Are other people still here, hiding in the palm trees or holding their breath underwater? When did you last swim your laps? Do your bones hurt? Did you know this was coming and hide that you knew, or did it ambush you from behind?

And the question is, which one is really "you.