This about sums it up for me.

The lovely and hilarious Karen Walrond and I just collaborated on a project.

I started out wanting to make a book trailer for my new book, but we wound up doing a video about my writing process.

That’s me talking in the video, trying to say something coherent about why I write the kinds of books I write–about the challenges of writing stories that are both funny and sad at the same time.

This is my favorite part:

“The only compass you can follow as a writer is to tell the story you long to hear.

And I long to hear stories about how people pull themselves together–much more than stories about how they fall apart.

I read once that we go to non-fiction to learn things and we go to fiction to feel things.  I don’t’ want to feel bleak, or dead, or bitter, or disappointed.

I want to read stories that make me laugh–and give me something to look forward to.  Ones that believe in love and hope and kindness.  Stories that see the best in us.

And that’s the kind I want to write, too.  I want people to come away inspired and grateful for all the blessings they tend to forget.”

I also like this, and it’s something I think about a lot:  “We have this funny misconception in our culture that only darkness is important.  But I think light is just as important.”

Karen spent the morning at my house, and she totally captures the feel of it!  It was a school morning, so the kids and husband were out, but the dog makes several appearances.

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