Writing Can Teach Us The Dignity Of

We Always Worry That We Are Copying Someone Else, That We Don't Have Our Own Style. Don't Worry. Writing Is A Communal Act. Contrary To Popular Belief, A Writer Is Not Prometheus Alone On A Hill Full Of Fire. We Are Very Arrogant To Think We Alone Have A Totally Original Mind. We Are Carried On The Backs Of All The Writers Who Came Before Us. We Live In The Present With All The History, Ideas, And Soda Pop Of This Time. It All Gets Mixed Up In Our Writing.

When You Write What You Know, You Stay In Control. One Of The First Things I Encourage My Writing Students To Do Is To Lose Control - Say What They Want To Say, Break Structure.

Ultimately, Writing Is About Trusting Your Own Mind. It Is An Act Of Discovery.

While I Had Cancer, I Wrote These Twenty-two Personal Essays About How I Lived My Life Backed By Zen And Writing.

Friends Open The Door For Me To Write. Then I Get Paid Attention To And It Allows Me To Write Other Books. The Great Spring And The Thirtieth Anniversary Of Bones Just Came Out And While I'm Happy And Excited About That, I've Already Finished A New Book. That's What Practice Does. You Don't Get Caught.