Nothing has happened to me out of the closet that was anywhere near as dangerous as being closeted.

It requires a certain kind of bravery, I suppose, to choose the status quo. There's a certain boldness to inaction.

My goal was just to tell the unlikely story in a way that would feel as convincing as possible.

Working as an editor was like being a professional reader, and the better I became at reading the better I became at writing.

I just hope that readers and publishers continue to appreciate good writing and good storytelling in all their various forms. And I hope that people continue to read books, even though we have so many other options for entertainment.

My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that imagined reader, which is a crucial part of learning to tell stories.

To be a good editor or a good writer, I think you really need to be a great reader first.