Indeed, at times it's best to shut up.

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

My wife and daughter have accused me of being too silent at breakfast but I don't want to talk when I don't have much to say.

Domesticity has been a challenge for me but painful as it's been, engaging with family has been a school for reducing solipsism and increasing my understanding of people's different reactions to stress.

A personal essay often includes some or a lot of personal confession. That makes the reader feel less lonely in their confusion and darkness.

In new work, we need to see the shadow, however faint, of previous literary effort.

The knowledge that my discriminations are skewed and not always universally desirable doesn't stop me in the least from making them.