I have a theory... that someplace at the heart of most compelling stories is something that doesn't make sense.

My father died in my arms. That's tumult. That's everything exploding.

Find what causes a commotion in your heart. Find a way to write about that

When people realize they are being listened to, they tell you things.

My job is to have empathy and curiosity for things that I've never done. Also, I'm a person whom people talk to.

They may already know too much about their mother and father--nothing being more factual than divorce, where so much has to be explained and worked through intelligently (though they have tried to stay equable). I've noticed this is often the time when children begin calling their parents by their first names, becoming little ironists after their parents' faults. What could be lonelier for a parent than to be criticized by his child on a first-name basis?

Humans generally get out the gist of what they need to say right at the beginning, then spend forever qualifying, contradicting, burnishing or taking important things back. Yor rareley miss anything by cutting most people off after two sentences.