I have no wisdom and nothing useful to tell you - I only mentioned this because it came into my head.
Russell HobanWhen I write a book, I don't have a plan or an outline. The characters move the action, and the action develops the characters. When I write a book, I become an actor, really, taking the role of the person who is speaking or acting at the time, and so their reactions to whatever they see are my reactions.
Russell HobanMy generation was somewhat between things, neither free nor much supported by whatever held us in.
Russell HobanToo-lateness, I realized, has nothing to do with age. Itโs a relation of self to the moment. Or not, depending on the person and the moment. Perhaps there even comes a time when itโs no longer too late for anything. Perhaps, even, most times are too early for most things, and most of life has to go by before itโs time for almost anything and too late for almost nothing. Nothing to lose, the present moment to gain, the integration with long-delayed Now.
Russell HobanThe first thing I would say to young writers is, "Don't do it, unless you can't stand not to do it." And the second thing I would say is, "If you do do it, and get into it, the constant rule you should have in mind is to explore your material." It sounds simple, but it isn't, because people often want to get from A to B, and they don't stop to look at what is in the material.
Russell Hoban