character exercises

You have to be willing to step in front of a bullet—and that’s no small choice, because some of these people are not exactly lovable—and getting shot hurts. It’s high stakes and high stress, and if you’re going to do it right, it has to be about something bigger than you.

“I don’t want to break up. I love you.” “You only say that,” Robby said then, his voice tinged with a certainty I’ll never forget, “because you don’t know what love is.”

“You have three deal-breaker flaws.” The words echoed in my head as I braced for them. Three deal-breaker flaws. “One,” Robby said, “you work all the time.” Okay. He also worked all the time. But fine. “Two,” Robby went on, “you’re not fun, you know? You’re so serious every minute.” Um. Holy shit. How do you argue with that? “And three,” Robby said