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Reading usually precedes writing. And the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of...more

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A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the w

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Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world.

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Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention...more

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Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay

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Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.

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My urge to write is an urge not to self-expressionism but to self-transcendence. My work is both bigger and smaller than I am.

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If I thought that what I'm doing when I write is expressing myself, I'd junk the typewriter. Writing is a much more complicated activity that that.

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My idea of a writer: someone interested in everything.

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Writing is a mysterious activity.

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The writer is either a practicing recluse or a delinquent, guilt-ridden one--or both. Usually both.

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For the modern consciousness, the artist (replacing the saint) is the exemplary sufferer. And among artists, the writer, the man of words, is the pers...more