You can never tell you the mountain will allow and who it will not.

You don't have to be alone to feel alone.

Dan," she said. "I'm worried about him. It's not right that a thirteen-year-old knows as much as he does bout stealing things." " You're right," Jake said. "He should have been at least sixteen like you before he became part of an international crime ring.

...what makes a story unique is not necessarily the information in the story but what the writer chooses to put in or leave out.(pg. 146-147)

You can never tell you the mountain will allow and who it will not.

For a climber, saying that you are stopping by Everest is like saying that you are stopping by to see God.

When you do your research write down whatever interests you. Whatever stimulates your imagination. Whatever seems important. A story is built like a stone wall. Not all the stones will fit. Some will have to be discarded. Some broken and reshaped. When you finish the wall it may not look exactly like the wall you envisioned, but it will keep the livestock in and the predators out. (pg. 144)