Becky Albertalli

It's so easy as a teen to feel like everybody is having this normal experience - except you. You're on the outside.

Simon' was such a charmed experience.

Fat has a range of experiences.

There is no universal gay experience. All stories are relevant, and all stories are needed.

I've been fat since fourth grade and bullied for it, but I still knew I couldn't represent every kids' experience.

I guess I feel it's funny to be looked to for advice on writing when I am still taking in so much from other people.

It's funny, the moments that shape you as a writer.

My book, 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,' is a gay love story. It's also a story about friendship. Quite honestly, it's also probably a 320-page product placement for Oreos.

I am a psychologist. That's my training.

I actually don't know much about Jaclyn Moriarty's process or where her stories come from or who inspired her characters. I just know that reading her books feels like sitting with friends. Her characters feel alive.

As a psychologist, I'm painstakingly careful not to borrow my clients' stories for my fiction - but in a general sense, I'm very much inspired by all the teenagers I've been lucky enough to know and work with.

There are so many different environmental factors for just how safe it is for a kid to come out.