My inner critic who had begun piping up about how hopeless I was and how I didn't know to write.

If you really want to write, then shut yourself in a room, close the door, and WRITE. If you don't want to write, do something else. It's as simple as that.

I have never been nervous in all my life and I have no patience with people who are. If you know what you are going to do, you have no reason to be nervous. And I knew what I was going to do.

Research on child abuse suggests that religious beliefs can foster, encourage, and justify the abuse of children. When contempt for sex underlies teachings, this creates a breeding ground for abuse.

Reading Stephen King's book, On Writing, was like being cornered and forced to have a long, drawn out mental enema.

For a long period in my life - it lasted about 10 years - I had writer's block.

My block was due to two overlapping factors: laziness and lack of discipline.