optimism is a disease

I did a lot of student acting when I was young.

Matthew Wiener on Mad Men writes the entire series before they start shooting, and if you have that, then what you can do with character and story is not at all unlike what you can do in a novel.

...in words and pickles, I have immortalized my memories, although distortions are inevitable in both methods. We must live, I'm afraid, with the shadows of imperfections.

I don't like books that play to the gallery, but I've become more concerned with telling a story as clearly and engagingly as I can.

If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull your punches and second-guess yourself and not do things because you're worried, then don't write. Stay home and do something else.

The frustrating part of being tagged 'controversial' is people go looking for trouble where there isn't any to look for.