I always talk to my students about the need to write for the joy of writing. I try to sort of disaggregate the acclaim from the act of writing.

It's impossible to control the reception of your work - the only thing you can control is the experience of writing itself, and the work you create.

Many Lexington natives believe they live in a special place, one impossible to leave. I'm not so sure about that - or it's more accurate to say I think a more general truth exists beneath it: the place you first call home stays with you always, whether you remain or go.

Usually when I write a script, I have in mind some real people that I'm writing about, who don't always act in the film afterward.

In writing, I want to be remembered for telling good stories in beautiful and powerful language, using the poetry of words to reflect the thematic concerns of compelling stories.

I don't need to hang out in a posse and try to act cool.