Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Defining success is an ongoing challenge.
'When You Were Mine' is about heartbreak.
It was always a dream of mine to create a show.
For many writers, selling a book is the ultimate dream.
It takes a lot for a show to withstand the test of time.
Of course YA authors have a responsibility to their audience.
I always say being a writer is the best gig around. I love it.
No love story ends or begins out of accordance with how it needs to go.
The best way to get me to write more books is to read the ones that exist!
At 22, and on my fourth day in New York, I was lucky enough to meet my mentor.
The truth is there are people who love horror movies. I don't happen to be one of those people.
'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte has been my all-time favorite book since I was in middle school.
It is my greatest wish to teach children what I now believe: that writing is not a burden but a joy.
If you're applying for a creative position, don't be afraid to get a little creative on your resume.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: writing picture books is an art - the art of word choice.
If you want to be a writer, first and foremost, you must write. If you write, you're a writer. Period.
I always say it's a shame picture books get such a bad rep. Illustrations are tough to sell older kids on!
I love anything by Deb Caletti. She's my absolute favorite young adult author. I love Ally Carter as well.
Writing is probably the least glamorous profession there is. This doesn't change when you become an author.
I think that one of the reasons Shakespeare withstands the test of time is that his themes are so universal.
At its heart, 'Mostly Good Girls' is about the pressures we put on ourselves to live up to ideas of perfection.
It's devastating when that happens, when someone just ups and leaves for no reason, but love does sometimes go wrong.
Leave horror previews for horror movies. At least you know the people going have made a choice that they want to see them.
So many tend to brand the Internet as the downfall of youth, but 'Ready Player One' hints that it's more complicated than that.
Writing isn't manual labor. Nor is it emptying the dishwasher or paying bills. It's work, sure, but sometimes it should be fun.
Writing is hard. It takes commitment and determination and a good part talent. It's not an afterthought, an addendum - it's a career.
If you see someone struggling, offer input. If someone comes to you with a question, don't assume they should seek a higher up for the answer.
My first novel, 'When You Were Mine,' was a very, very personal story and drew a lot on the people in my life and the relationships that I had.
I don't watch horror films, because I don't want those images in my psyche, and I resent having them forced on me before a movie of my choosing.
The adult fiction and writing for children portions of my MFA program were kept very separate, and there was a stigma around those 'kid people.'
Shakespeare is so fundamental to the way we see story. A tremendous amount of narratives come from him - more than many authors are aware, I think.
The truth is that 'Twilight' is not a story about Bella and Jacob. It's a story about Bella and Edward. That was the story this writer wanted to tell.
When someone around you succeeds, it does not mean they've taken that spot from you. What it means is that you are in the atmosphere of someone who is creating.
I often lament that new picture books don't get read because the classics hold up so well. It's a ridiculous complaint because, um, the classics hold up so well.
That's the funny thing about time. It is only in looking back that it's easy to connect the dots. To see exactly why everything needed to happen the way that it did.
I am a very big 'Vampire Diaries' fan, and I was a huge Stefan and Elena fan. That love story was one of the most beautiful ones I had ever seen on screen. I loved it.
By refusing to lend a hand, we are not only robbing our colleagues and peers of the opportunity to gain guidance, but we are also robbing ourselves of the opportunity to lead.
'The Borrowers' is the story of tiny people who live beneath the floorboards of houses and borrow from the occupants. I may have tried to pull up a plank or two because of it.
I fell in love with the young adult space watching 'Dawson's Creek' and 'Roswell.' I've been a fan my whole life, and it was always a dream of mine to contribute to that area.
I was a children's yoga instructor in high school, which was a lot of fun but hard work. I remember once trying to teach 13 three year olds how to do tree pose... not so easy.
I love that the collapse of The Other Side is being felt in both 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'The Originals' universes - as someone who is a fan of both shows, it's very fun to watch.
Picture books, while less in word count, are certainly not less important. There are unbelievably skillful authors writing in this vein. Authors like Jane O'Connor and Jon Scieszka.
We need to take a far more active role in love than 'Romeo and Juliet' would lead us to believe. Perhaps that's what Shakespeare's saying, in a way. We can't leave it all up to fate.
The first thing I thought when I finished Ernest Cline's 'Ready Player One' was, 'My God, it's the grown-up's 'Harry Potter.'' Now this is from a mega 'HP' fan, so I mean business, here.
I was lucky to have made it to 23 before my world fell apart, but when it did, I had no idea how to survive. It was a rough year. I cried - a lot. I complained - a lot. I also wrote - a lot.
I really am so grateful to get to do what it is I love - build worlds. Most of my job is playing make-believe, getting to know the people in my head, and letting them help me tell their stories.
I don't have to mumble something under my breath when someone asks me what I do anymore. I can just say, definitively, 'I'm an author.' And the best part? That's not a myth. That's just the truth.
I get asked a lot what books I recommend for a nursery, home library, etc., and I always tell parents to start with what they loved as children, what they want to share, and broaden out from there.
I've tried in the past to blog about ghostwriting and have failed. I have a lot of opinions on the whole issue, and I'm constantly censoring myself to make sure I don't just sound like a bitter writer.
Every writer, no matter published, unpublished, award-winning, or bestselling, faces insecurity. It crops up everywhere and, in my personal experience, nearly every day. It's just a part of the process.