when I talk about a writing life, I'm talking about a life in which writing is the dominant response to living.

Do not call procrastination laziness. Call it fear.

Any little bit of experimenting in self-nurturance is very frightening for most of us.

It is not the act of making art that is painful. It is the desire to make something and not acting on it that causes pain....A day when I don't write is less happy. This is not discipline. It is affection, enthusiasm, adventure-any number of other words besides discipline.

Creativity requires faith. Faith requires that we relinquish control.

By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.

Creativity is always a leap of faith. You're faced with a blank page, blank easel, or an empty stage.