Tomorrow morning the critic will be gone, but the writer will still be there facing the blank page. Nothing matters but that he keep working.

Don't prepare, do. Don't let Resistance sucker you into wasting months on background, foundation, planning. All that can come later.

The professional loves her work. She is invested in it wholeheartedly. But she does not forget that the work is not her.

Stay stupid. Follow your unconventional crazy heart.

Reading is alive and well and will get more alive and more well. Reading on tablets (or whatever the next tech device will be) is the future - and the future is now.

The artist cannot look to others to validate his efforts or his calling. If you don't believe me, ask Van Gogh, who produced masterpiece after masterpiece and never found a buyer in his whole life.

A writer writes with his genius; an artist paints with hers; everyone who creates operates from this sacramental center.