I Don't Really Know The Person Who

My Sophomore English Teacher Encouraged Me To Write For The School Paper, And That's What Got Me Started. Suddenly It Struck Me That Being A Writer Could Be A Romantic And Adventurous Position. Previously, I Had Thought I Would Be A Tennis Pro, Giving Lessons At A Local Club. I Thought That Would Be A Good Life, And It Might Have Been.

It's Hard For Me To Think Of Writing A Novel, Because It Takes So Long.

I'm Actually Much More Shy And Self-conscious Than People's Perception Of Me.

I Wondered Where The Person Was Who Had Taken My Place, Who Wanted To Know What News People Had Been Told. I'm Always Looking For The Person Who Replaces Me, Who Thinks The Things I Do, Who Fills In For Me When I'm Not There. I Know There Is Someone Younger Than Me Doing What I Did And Someone Older Doing What I Will Do, And Someone My Age Being Just Like Me.

Don't Hold Me To Anything In The Book. I'm A Waffler. I Like Wafflers. They Said John Kerry Was A Waffler, But I Admired Him For That - Showed He Could Change His Mind.