You Learn To Exploit Genre For The

My Oldest Sister Was An Actress Living In Nyc By The Time I Was Ten, And Desperately Wanted To Be The One In Charge Of The Words.

As A Writer, My Main Objective Is To Tell The Story Urgently - As If Whispering It Into One Ear - And To Know The Characters Intimately.

She Glances Back Before Stepping Into The Alley, And She Catches Her Grandfather Looking At Her The Way He Does Sometimes--as If She's Already Gone, As If He's Practicing Sorrow.

The Lessons Learned In Journalism Also Apply. Writing For Npr Has Taught Me To Cut A Piece In Half And Then In Half Again - Without Losing The Essence. Apply That To The Swollen Prose Of A Bulky Novel And You Might Reveal A Beautiful Work.

Beauty, You Can Find It Here If You Look Hard Enough.