I actually have a thing about proper nouns. They clang on my ear in a weird way when I hear them dropped into movies.
Talk about what you love and keep quiet about what you don't.
Even though I occasionally appear on it, I don't watch television.
My trick is the trick that everyone knows: Work really hard and prepare.
Everyone has expectations. You just don't want to have them dashed, so you're quiet about them.
What I write is very personal, but not autobiographical. It's more 'thematically personal' - what's up in my life in terms of themes at the moment.