Shut up and write. Don't talk about writing, just physically do it.

We always worry that we are copying someone else, that we don't have our own style. Don't worry. Writing is a communal act. Contrary to popular belief, a writer is not Prometheus alone on a hill full of fire. We are very arrogant to think we alone have a totally original mind. We are carried on the backs of all the writers who came before us. We live in the present with all the history, ideas, and soda pop of this time. It all gets mixed up in our writing.

Poetry has never been a favorite American pastime.

I came out with a book called The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language. It's a book that describes how writing is a practice and how my teaching is part of that practice. I direct the writing and create books but underneath, there's always the river of practice happening. No good, no bad. Just do it.

We must remember that everything is ordinary and extraordinary. It is our minds that either open or close.

Have compassion for yourself when you write. There is no failure - just a big field to wander in.

If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you.