Dwelling on pain, spending too much time immersed in it, tasting its flavors, fingering its textures--this makes it only more potent.

If there was ever a time to boil up some grits it is now.

I take mentoring very seriously and I am on the board of an organization called Girls Write Now, where we match teen girls and writing mentors because it changes their lives.

Remember that the writing itself is good for you. If your story is so close to home that you are afraid to write it, it probably means you need to write it.

When you write a novel, you make other people see your imaginary friends.

I take mentoring very seriously and as a result I hardly get any work done during the school year.

This is what I have come to know: Our past is never passed and there is no such thing as moving on. But there is this telling and there is such a thing as passing through.

When it comes to memoir, we want to catch the author in a lie. When we read fiction, we want to catch the author telling the truth.

Abandonment doesn't have the sharp but dissipating sting of a slap. It's like a punch to the gut, bruising your skin and driving the precious air from your body.

My first novel, Leaving Atlanta, took at look at my hometown in the late 1970s, when the city was terrorized by a serial murderer that left at least 29 African-American children dead.

It's funny how three or four notes of anger can be struck at once, creating the perfect chord of fury.

A VIP area is nothing without not-so-important people.

Freedom is what's left when the belief systems deconstruct.

I love good food. I’m an epicurean, that’s for sure. … But I am not really a good cook.

Holding on to anger is like poisoning yourself and hoping someone else will die.

Romney raised $10 million. That’s a dollar for every position he’s had on healthcare.

I love more than anything looking at a movie scene by scene and seeing the intention behind it.

As the father of six children, I know very well the challenges technology poses to our families.

You start developing a championship attitude by, first of all, telling kids that they are really good and that they have the potential to become better.

You should never lose heart. God is merciful and kind- he has endowed you with the best gift- smile, which can make millions happy.

Grip the club as if you were holding a baby bird.