Writing a story or a novel is one way of discovering sequence in experience of stumbling upon cause and effect in the happenings of a writer's own life.

Though 'Fire and Rain' is very personal for other people it resonates as a sort of commonly held experience... And that's what happens with me. I write things for personal reasons and then in some cases it... can be a shared experience.

No matter how close to personal experience a story might be inevitably you are going to get to a part that isn't yours and actually whether it happened or not becomes irrelevant. It is all about choosing the right words.

Something happens to us all when we experience something as a unit that doesn't occur when we're on our couches or holding our little portable DVD players.

I developed a mechanism so that whatever mistakes I made I would bounce straight back. Whatever was happening off the pitch I could put it to one side and maintain my form. Call it mental resilience or a strong mind but that is what we mean when we talk about experience in a football team.

Well I think the main message is there is more to your story. There is more than what happens between the crib and the grave and that is what I am really trying to speak to this idea that all of life is this life and that there is nothing more than what we see and experience right here on this earth.

It's more fun to experience things when you don't know what's going to happen.

You may never learn the names of any of the people you talk to in a dog park even after many many hours spent there with them and many hours of conversation. But if - knock on wood - anything should ever happen to your dog these nameless non-strangers will rally sympathize offer to help and hold your hand. I know this from experience.

The traveler was active he went strenuously in search of people of adventure of experience. The tourist is passive he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes 'sight-seeing.'

But if somebody dies if something happens to you there is a normal process of depression it is part of being human and some people view it as a learning experience etc.