- fiction is about leaving enough space for the user to apply her imagination
- reading is a very engaging activity between the writer and the reader
- fiction allows you to write about the real world without having to exactly mirroring it
- America is an extremely polarized country. Same theme elicits different responses
- the writer needs to be able to step out of his own perception into another perception that might be opposed
- once books gets turned into show sales of books go way through the roof
- to only focus attention on things you have control of
- works building happens in the background through a process of collecting random thoughts - JRR Tolkien spent 40-50 years working on the lord of the rings
- process changes as time in life stage changes
- daily circadian rhythm dictates the writing schedule mornings used for writing
- science and magic are symbolism of power
- more stimulated by reading outside the field
- start by reading within the field and understand what works
- then sent over by the editor or if knows the author
- wants to read book that impacts us in a meaningful way
- power results in a lot of decision that needs to be made night and day. Causes a lot of aging really fast
- doing something for fun feels quite different from working full time
- writing is like raising a child. You raise them and then send them out into the world to make money
- if I can’t write a scene I need to
- if I can find an answer within 10 questions then it’s probably not worth writing
- need to think about an idea till invested before committing to it
- it’s like a survival of the fittest with ideas in the head
- make sure to marry and partner with the right person. It’s unbelievable what they have to deal with