Things musicals taught me: All your problems will go away if you sing about it.

That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before.

It was like being in an elevator cut loose at the top. Falling, falling, and not knowing when you will hit.

You always think, 'Oh, if only I had a little chalet in the mountains! How great that would be and I'd do all this writing' Except, no, I wouldn't. I'd do the same amount of writing I do now and the rest of the time I'd go stir crazy. If you're waiting for the perfect moment you'll never write a thing because it will never arrive. I have no routine. I have no foolproof anything. There's nothing foolproof.

To take that risk, to offer life and remain alive, open yourself like this and become whole.

You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there's no free lunch. Writing is work. It's also gambling. You don't get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you're on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don't whine.

'1984' is not a wonder tale. Not only could it happen, but it has happened, but under different names.