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

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

We were a different kind of Christian, the quiet, reasonable kind, a breed embarrassed by the mention of miracles.

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

It's really hard to get a book published, even a good book, but the better the book is the better chance it has of eventually catching someone's attention.

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

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.