Maggie Renzi: You only get so many shots, so quit talking about yourself. Quit talking about what you know. 
John Sayles: I always say: Don't write what you know; write what you're interested in—and do the research.

-- During a Saturday afternoon Q&A at the Port Townsend Film Festival (PTFF) when the topic of socially conscious independent film came up. Sayles and Renzi were this year's guests of honor. 

Sayles and Renzi the night before at a screening of “The Secret of Roan Inish.”