If you have a friend, things are better than if you didn't have a friend.

Anyone who has problems, or worries, anyone who laughs and cries, anyone who feels can write. It's only talking on paper... talking about the things that matter to us.

Do you all have a living room floor or a bedroom floor? Then you can write a book.

I have no special talent, you know. I never took a writing course before I began to write.

Sometimes when I visit schools, kids will interview me for the school newspaper. They ask me questions and my answers tend to go on and on, and they try to write down everything I'm saying as quickly as they can. And one day, a kid holds up her hand and said, 'Do you think you could just answer 'yes' or 'no?' Aren't kids wonderful?

Outside of family, writing is essential. To me, it's like breathing.