I love memoirs. They are probably my favorite literary form, along with biographies. The more confessional, the better. There is so, so, so little truth in the popular culture, and I am starved and grateful for any I can find.

The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. But we do. We have so much we want to say and figure out.

Everything takes me forever. It's all lurch, flail. I hope that is good news to you writers.

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories.

Or you might shout at the top of your lungs or whisper into your sleeve, "I hate you, God." That is a prayer too, because it is real, it is truth, and maybe it is the first sincere thought you've had in months.

It is hard to remember that you are a cherished spiritual being when you're burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.

The real payoff is the writing itself, that a day when you have gotten your work done is a good day, that total dedication is the point.