I am going to write my symphony; I'm just going to start tomorrow.

The last element in drama is high stakes. War, of course, is life and death - survival, not only for the story's characters, but often for the society itself. That's why I'm drawn to stories that are built around wars, even if they're not technically "war stories."

Its [Resistance] aim is to shove us away, distract us from doing our work.

When we make our art a practice, when we make our workspace sacred and enter it daily with respect and high intention, then we elevate our actions (even if they're taking place within the profane arena of commerce) beyond ego and above gimme-gimme ambition.

To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be.

Don't prepare. Begin. Our enemy is not lack of preparation. The enemy is resistance, our chattering brain producing excuses. Start before you are ready.

When you're a working writer, sooner or later friends and acquaintances will get you alone and confide that they, too, have a book in them.