Writing is the process of discovery, so, you don’t have to have all your ideas fully formed before you write (an outline is good but you may not know exactly what you want to write). As you write, it will clarify your ideas. Don’t wait for the perfect word or phrase, just write and it will morph into something that you like. Don’t wait for something that you like before you write it down, just write.

You didn’t necessarily identify with the unnamed “you” who starred in each book. It was more that each protagonist offered you an alternative to yourself, or forty alternatives to yourself. The second person was less like a mirror and more like a costume.

The fact of multiple endings offers a sense of freedom and safety at once, reconciling two conflicting desires of childhood: autonomy and protection.

Randomness was never part of his compositional strategy. “My philosophy was that it should be like life,” he tells you. Smart decisions were more likely to result in a better outcome but wouldn’t always guarantee it. Virtuous choices didn’t always pay off.

Anson always writes one “Golden Ticket” ending where you get exactly what you want, and a few “Golden Ticket minus one” paths where you get almost everything, but not quite.