...an imagined town is at least as real as an actual town. If it isn't, you may be in the wrong business. Our words come from obsessions we must submit to, whatever the social cost. It can be hard. It can be worse forty years from now if you feel you could have done it and didn't. It is narcissistic, vain, egotistical, unrealistic, selfish, and hateful to assume emotional ownership of a town or a word. It is also essential.

Think small.... If you can't think small, try philosophy or social criticism.

Assuming you can write clear English sentences, give up all worry about communication. If you want to communicate, use the telephone.

You are someone and you have a right to your life.

Don't write love poems when you're in love. Write them when you're not in love.

A creative writing class may be one of the last places you can go where your life still matters.

If you want to communicate, use the telephone