A great quote

"Every time I write, I find myself going through a form of self-examination that is almost a kind of therapy. By creating and examining my characters I find myself questioning my own motivations, my own character. By creating problems for these characters, I look at my problems--and sometimes find solutions. If I get angry at something, the way teachers are treated in this country, the low opinion of women in combat (despite a few thousand years of history stating otherwise), I write about it and get Mr. Holland's Opus or Courage Under Fire. Trying to come to terms with my own combat experience, I delved into those subjects in Courage..., 84 Charlie Mopic and War Story: Vietnam.

Every story and every character has a part of me, good guy or bad, and I share their emotions, good or bad. I vent rage, weep, laugh, and all without exposing anyone else to my angst and dramatics. I take my worst psychological problems and work them out on paper. I think writers, like other artists, go into dark corners where most people have hidden the dangerous parts of their lives. Writers go into these closets in their minds, pull out something most people don't want to discuss or admit, and say, 'Look at this. This is how I feel, how I think.' And the wonder of it all is that no matter how despicable, dreadful, or embarrassing that thought or deed may be, it is often universal. The audience recognizes it and experiences that same emotion vicariously, safely."

-- Patrick S. Duncan (Courage Under Fire, Mr. Holland's Opus)