Punctuation is a fabulous tool for controlling your reader–you even get to control where they breathe. That’s what I call power!

— Nicola Morgan (as posted on Ingrid’s Notes)

Anonymous asked: What would you tell a teenage girl who’s feeling a little/lot down because boys she’s interested in never reciprocate because she is too weird/quiet/intimidating/undesirable? I’ve been in this predicament my whole life, even though I’ve gotten over my ‘awkward stage’, and lately it’s gotten disappointing and depressing. I’m in need of some advice, or at least a pick-me-up, and you seem like a good person to go to.

1. Teen boys are having issues of their own and are sometimes too busy thinking about those/ figuring out their lives/ feeling secretly inadequate/ feeling pretty much how you are feeling to actually notice if you are interested in them. Actually, scratch the teen part. Actually, scratch the boy part. Humans are all having issues and are often secretly suspicious that the world finds them weird or ugly or stupid or awkward. IT’S NOT JUST YOU.

— Maggie Stiefvater (as posted on her tumblr, go there to read her full response!)

“It is human nature to concoct explanations to fill the great void of the unknown.”

“People are always so much braver, so much nobler, than I ever imagine.”

–Rae Carson, The Bitter Kingdom