Teachers, people, and, to be honest, some of my classmates didn't understand me. I was the person they didn't like because I would always speak my mind and had a lot of energy. I'd be bouncing around all the time, being very opinionated.

I directed plays in college. It's something that I have sort of always put in the back of my mind, and I'm a busy actress, and it's very difficult to sort of find the time, honestly, to commit to directing. It's a very - it's a big, big job.

My father taught me many important giving lessons, but two stand out. First, always give as much as you possibly can. And second, give equally from among your resources - your time, your mind and your capital. These are principles I live by.

For many of us, we imagine that separation is crucial, the time for your mind to switch from one thing to another is important. And there are other people who are much more comfortable with that barrier being on a spectrum, always working or always semi-working.

It's not really about the competition. Your biggest challenge in a race is yourself. You're often racing against time. You're frequently running everything through your mind. You're always competing against preconceived ideas. It's not really the person next to you that you worry about.

Creating the characters is the most creative part of the novel except for the language itself. There I am, sitting in front of my computer in right-brain mode, typing the things that come to mind - which become the seeds of plot. It's scary, though, because I always wonder: Is it going to be there this time?

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