The prospect of a long day at the beach makes me panic. There is no harder work I can think of than taking myself off to somewhere pleasant, where I am forced to stay for hours and 'have fun'.

Confession makes you a more trustworthy narrator.

The essay must be artistically rendered: You must keep the reader engaged, whether with wit, conflict, mischief, and/or yes, with honesty.

I really do like to write and when I'm not, I think, "Okay, I'll be a good citizen now" but fact is, that's secondary.

Most good essays are conversations with yourself - not just your decided thoughts but your dilemmas.

I've had an enduring appreciation of psychology.

Until people see poetry as springing from all of life, they will isolate it in a creativity corner and treat it like a mascot.