“Instead of a book, what if we're actually writing (or not writing) in the margins of our lives? What if our lives are books? What is the sign of our presence? Are we pressing into the margins our interpretations and questions? Are we circling offending verbs and drawing furious arrows to the margin where we scrawl "irony," "frustration," "voiceless," "unfair!" Or do we simply turn the pages, passively receiving what's given, furiously disagreeing but remaining silent about it?”

“And by knowing what we fear, don't we know what we care about, how we are measuring our worth, what success looks like?" I asked. So isn't fear helpful, then?”

“We can either own our circumstances and be creative in them, or we can throw up our hands and say, I cannot be held accountable because the conditions are not ideal.”

“What few rules appear to be in place are all made up.”

“Don't separate 'real' life from 'creative' life.”

“Don't say you're a writer if you're not writing. Even if you're writing, don't call yourself a writer. Say instead, 'I write.' It's the verb that's important, not the noun.”

“We are always - always- in choice.”

“Take yourself out of the center of other people's universe - it will free you up and let the universe turn more easily.”

“If you're alive, you're creative.”

“What if your art could provide everything you ever needed or wanted in life?”

“Watch other people for clues about who they are, not just clues about how much they are or are not like you.”