“You really don't understand the first thing about writing...for one thing, early in the morning is the worst possible time. the brain is like a wet sponge at that hour. And for another, real writing is a question of staring into space and waiting for the right ideas.”
“The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.”
“Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else.”
“It's the first thing I tell my students: If you could understand, really understand, that no one needs to read your work, then your writing would improve vastly by the time we meet in this classroom again.”
“The worst thing you write is better than the best thing you didn't write.”
“Writing is not a matter of time, but a matter or of space. If you don't keep space in your head for writing, you won't write even if you have the time.”