As much as I revere great writing, and am still humbled by it, literary activities are no longer esoteric to me. When I read a great novel - something that I could never have written myself - I'm still looking at it a little bit like a technician.

Writing is a private discipline, in a field of companions.

Poetry is supposed to be musical. But people don't understand prose. They're so used to reading journalism - clunky, functional sentences that convey factual information - facts, more than just the surfaces of things.

But the day I can't shrug off a twinge of self-pity, is the day I'm washed up for keeps.

I want what we all want," said Carl. "To move certain parts of the interior of myself into the exterior world, to see if they can be embraced.

Writing is a necessity and often a pleasure, but at the same time, it can be a great burden and a terrible struggle.

It's now expected of me that I will defy expectation, so I really generally seem to be free to write what I want.