What happens is fact, not truth. Truth is what we think about what happens.

A fine work of art - music, dance, painting, story - has the power to silence the chatter in the mind and lift us to another place.

Don't be didactic - don't write about poverty. Write about poor people. When you dramatize their lives and let life and characters be your inspiration, you will express the 'idea' dynamically and without preaching.

Deus ex machina not only erases all meaning and emotion, it's an insult to the audience. Each of us knows we must choose and act, for better or worse, to determine the meaning of our lives...Deus ex machina is an insult because it is a lie.

When we want mood experiences, we go to concerts or museums. When we want meaningful emotional experience, we go to the storyteller.

When you do enough research, the story almost writes itself. Lines of development spring loose and you'll have choices galore.

The mark of a master is to select only a few moments, but give us a lifetime.