Writing
- Dialogue (Let it run, edit later.)
- Story (The idea doesn’t matter if there’s no story. Focus on the story.)
- Action (If in doubt, appeal to action.)
- Characters Have Journals (Each character has a journal, however brief, both aside from and about the story.)
- Flip the Script (Do the unexpected. The alternate answer is always right. Make people like Tony squirm by not doing the most likely thing.)
- Endings Must Almost Disappoint (Figure out the ending Harper would hate the most, then make him think as long as possible that that’s what will happen. The finish is about worry.)
Authorship
- Write Hard (write fast, write hot, edit when cool)
- Proceed At All Costs (There’s no writing, only editing.)
- Writing Advice is Mostly Crap (I want to be an author, not a writer.)
- Professionals Show Up (lawyers don’t call in on a trial, or doctors on a surgery, just because they don’t feel like it)