Torrey Maldonado

And so I had to pivot and really pull certain ideas out and toss that idea this way and say, this is the essential.

I got to keep this.

But while I was trying to trim the fat with my picture book, I stuck with another idea.

piece of advice that runs through all of my books.

And it's the advice that comes from Maya Angelou, that people will forget what you say, but they'll never forget how you make them feel.

So while I was writing Just Write, it was really important for me to leave readers with big feelings, you know, that sobering, heart-wrenching feeling you mentioned, but then also that big feeling of, wow,

This feels just right.

I feel more right.

The world feels lighter.

Thank you.

Thanks for saying that.

And I'm glad that this is being recorded because I can play back that compliment.

Thank you for telling me that my picture book, Just Write, is also thin but thick with complexity.

I feel like this time around, the picture book format chose me.

I didn't choose it.

And the reason is when I wrote the book.

I was writing this...

at a time where I needed to feel my mood flip instantly to up.

I needed a powerful rollercoaster ride of fiction.

And a novel wasn't gonna cut it.