TAYLOR JENKINS REID

I never wanted a big wedding. I never wanted to wear a white dress or throw a bouquet.

It wasn't until I set out to write a novel about marriage that I realized how little I knew about the institution.

There are, essentially, as many opinions on marriage as there are people in the world.

Writing for TV entails saying every dumb idea that comes into your head to a room of people. And doing so with the confidence that it doesn't make you look like an idiot.

I've always thought that a good book should be either the entry point inward, to learn about yourself, or a door outward, to open you up to new worlds.

My husband makes sacrifices so that I can shine.

You have to know your value, demand to be respected, speak your mind, and dare to ask for what you want. I struggle with every single one of these.

Notice the times in your life when you go above and beyond simply because you care so much.

I worked in feature film casting right out of college and spent a lot of time working with actors, directors, and producers.

Starting with 'Forever, Interrupted,' I somehow convinced myself that in order to create content, I had to consume content. What this means is that I have legitimized binge-watching television and told myself that I must do it for work.

I write a book a year while creating TV and film projects. And being a writer isn't just writing: I have to chase down paychecks and manage foreign tax payments. I maintain a vibrant relationship with readers and bloggers. And when it comes to Hollywood, I typically have to have fifteen business meetings in the hopes that one leads to a project.

I am constantly distracted by my own brain when I've completed a paragraph, realized I don't know what comes next, and start opening a browser tab without even realizing it.

As an author, I had spent years writing my stories on my own in a quiet room. My ideas traveled from my brain to my fingers, executed exactly as I saw fit, never veering from my own intent. TV simply doesn't work that way.

I love being a writer so much that I almost can't believe that I am one.

I had moved across the country, taken internships, networked, worked long hours, and called in favors to get there. And I had done it. I was working in Hollywood. So imagine the melancholy I found myself in when I realized that I didn't love casting the way that I always thought I would.

When I was a kid, all I ever wanted was to be famous.

Try everything with an open heart, looking to fall in love.

I have often lost whole days jumping from one Wikipedia article after another in an attempt to understand the full scope of marriage as an institution.

We often compare the experience of writing a book to that of playing God. It is up to us, and only us, to determine what happens to the people we invent. It is for us alone to determine what is good and bad, just and unjust, appropriate and inappropriate for the worlds we create. I love that about writing books.

I love reading books that can break my heart.

You can't write about an iconic Hollywood star of the sixties without bumping up against Elizabeth Taylor.

Selling a film option and getting a studio on board can be a slow process, and until things are official, you never want to spill the beans.

My passion is capturing what it feels like to love, be it romantic or otherwise. I love to watch two people realize what they meant for each other - and that goes across all media, books, TV, movies, personal essays; everything.

I was obsessed with Hollywood from the time I was a kid. I always knew I wanted to live in Los Angeles.

Life is too short to be on a diet.