A key to a long, productive writing life is finding ways to support that life, emotionally and existentially.

The writer loves the fog as it pours in; he loves the sun when the fog pours out. The rest of California is Beach Boys country, but San Francisco has that moody thing going on, those blues notes wrapped in moisture, an atmosphere that tempers California dreaming and makes life more real. The fog brings reality, but it is still a California reality, one spent outdoors the whole year round.

Dream, but expect nothing. Desire, but expect nothing. Hope, but expect nothing. Release your need to control and gain real control.

An artist must struggle to accept the shape of this universe - and achieve some important successes.

You can sweat by not practicing or you can pick up your clarinet. There's good sweat and there's bad sweat.

To create you must quiet your mind. You need a quiet mind so that ideas will have a chance of connecting.

A key to a long, productive writing life is finding ways to support that life, emotionally and existentially.