“Sit and quiet yourself. Luxuriate in a certain memory and the details will come. Let the images flow. You'll be amazed at what will come out on paper. I'm still learning what it is about the past that I want to write. I don't worry about it. It will emerge. It will insist on being told.”

“I'll think about something else. I'll just sit quietly. If I could sit still. If I could sit still, maybe I could read. Oh, all the books are about people who love each other, truly and sweetly. What do they want to write about that for? Don't they know it isn't true? Don't they know it's a lie, it's a God-damned lie? What do they have to tell about that for, when they know how it hurts?”

“Let's not talk about it any more, but if you still want anything please write to me about it, because I can say what I mean much better on paper.”

“The more I write the more I learn about writing. It is easy to say what looks good or sound good on paper until you experience it for yourself.”

“What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love! I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart”

“I’ve learned not to worry about what might come next.”