“...a writer should not so much write as embroider on paper; the work should be painstaking, laborious.”

“She thought a writer should work harder writing a book than she did reading it.”

“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

“Writing, real writing, should leave a small sweet bruise somewhere on the writer . . . and on the reader.”

“A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it.”

“We should write because it is human nature to write. Writing claims our world. It makes it directly and specifically our own. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance.We should write because writing brings clarity and passion to the act of living. Writing is sensual, experiential, grounding. We should write because writing is good for the soul. We should write because writing yields us a body of work, a felt path through the world we live in. We should write, above all, because we are writers, whether we call ourselves that or not.”