Quotes from Steven James

Over the years, I've found that anger is necessary, but it must reach an equilibrium: You need just enough but never too much. If you don't let it in, you become hollow; but if you let it take over, you become its slave.

It is our world. I hasten not to judge it for I am a part of it.

If you don't find forgiveness, you'll never end up with peace,

Relationships fall apart when the guy turns into a wimp or the girl has no more secrets.

her iPhone in the bowl so the sound would be amplified—pretty much the cheapest speaker system

That's all it was.

External struggles ignite reader interest and curiosity while internal and interpersonal struggles engender empathy.

truth is the one thing no one needs to be protected from.

She told herself the mantra of all addicts: that she could always quit tomorrow.

The only people who aren't hypocrites are those whose morals are so twisted, whose consciences are so seared, that they don't believe in any ideals higher than those they actually live out.

opening lines of Ecclesiastes: "'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.

In real life we want only the best for the people we care about. In fiction, we want things to get the worst for the characters we care about the most, at least on their pathway to the climax.

What would it look like to live in awe of every moment? To really, really see the terrible splendor, the delicate wonder of life?

The truth is, if you like long hours in solitude, emotional turmoil, constant self-criticism, and bouts of heartrending disappointment, you'll make a good writer. And if you can actually tell an engaging story, you might just make a great one.

In real life we avoid crisis events. In fiction we seek them out.

For a twist to work, it needs to be (1) unexpected, (2) inevitable, (3) an escalation of what preceded it, and (4) a revelation that adds meaning to what has already occurred.

Betrayal is a facet of love.

To uncover the plot of your story, don't ask what should happen, but what should go wrong. To uncover the meaning of your story, don't ask what the theme is, but rather, what is discovered. Characters making choices to resolve tension—that's your plot.

Go ahead and break the rules, flip expectations, twist the story world around backwards—as long as it's in the service of your readers.

A story might be character-centered (revolving around personal growth), plot-centered (relating to tasks to be completed), or relationship-centered (focused on developing connections between people), but the story is never driven forward simply by character studies or the procession of events occurring.

It's not true what they say about things being "only in your head." If it's in your head, it's in you, and you can't escape your thoughts, can't flee their effect on you. Call it psychosomatic if you want, but when thoughts affect your physiology, the problem is never just in your head.

Think of a caterpillar entering a cocoon. Once he does so, one of two things will happen: He will either transform into a butterfly, or he will die. But no matter what else happens, he will never climb out of the cocoon as a caterpillar. So it is with your protagonist.

mentor once told me that every dead end shows you more clearly the pattern of the labyrinth, that each one you encounter gives you one more piece of information that'll help you as you methodically fail your way to success. That's how he put it: failing your way to success.

joy is evidence of God.