The old customs are dead, and we keep trying on new ones, like badly fitting clothes. - Lois McMaster Bujold

I have a catchphrase to describe my plot-generation technique — "What's the worst possible thing I can do to these people?"

I’ve always thought—tests are a gift. And great tests are a great gift. To fail the test is a misfortune. But to refuse the test is to refuse the gift, and something worse, more irrevocable, than misfortune. Do you understand what I’m saying?

The meaning of yes is created by the ability to say no.