“You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or despair ... Come to it any way but lightly.”

“You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair--the sense that you can never completely put on the page what's in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.”

“What responsibility means is being your own guru. We can only help you find the way. Any healing, any progress, any hope, and any despair is going to come from you. It is your energy that matters. I can't give you my energy, and I wouldn't dream of it. I need it for me. But I can help you find your energy. I'm obligated to help you find it, in any way I can.”

“The only way you can write is by the light of the bridges burning behind you.”

“When we have reached the depths of despair, only then can we look up and see the light of hope.”

“Don't despair: despair suggests you are in total control and know what is coming. You don't - surrender to events with hope.”