Write every day. Don't ever stop. If you are unpublished, enjoy the act of writingโand if you are published, keep enjoying the act of writing. Don't become self-satisfied, don't stop moving ahead, growing, making it new. The stakes are high. Why else would we write?
Rick BassIt is a kind of church, back in these last cores. It may not be your church -- this last one percent of the West โ but it is mine, and I am asking unashamedly to be allowed to continue worshipping the miracle of the planet, and the worship of a natural system not yet touched, never touched by the machines of man. A place with the residue of God โ the scent, feel, sight, taste, and sound of God โ forever fresh upon it
Rick BassI've heard it said that when you die you enter a room of bright light, and that you can smell bread baking just around the corner.
Rick BassSometimes I perceive that there is a stillness and a wholeness in the world or in some portion or corner or fragment of the world or some little place in time where things just feel so right and huge and powerful and easy that I will have the perhaps blasphemous thought maybe there are layers of heaven.
Rick BassA novel that features real people is complicated, but in the end, that extra challenge is all for the good.
Rick BassIf it's wild to your own heart, protect it. Preserve it. Love it. And fight for it, and dedicate yourself to it, whether it's a mountain range, your wife, your husband, or even (god forbid) your job. It doesn't matter if it's wild to anyone else: if it's what makes your heart sing, if it's what makes your days soar like a hawk in the summertime, then focus on it. Because for sure, it's wild, and if it's wild, it'll mean you're still free. No matter where you are.
Rick Bass