There are no taboos. Every topic is open, however shocking. It is the way that the topics are handled that's important, and that applies whether it is a 15-year-old who is reading your book or someone who is 55.

The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile.

I had my bully, and it was excruciating. Not only the bully, but the intimidation I felt.

The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.

They don't actually want you to do your own thing, not unless it's their thing too.