I don't believe that a writer 'gets' (takes into the head) an 'idea' (some sort of mental object) 'from' somewhere, and then turns it into words, and writes them on paper. At least in my experience, it doesn't work that way. The stuff has to be transformed into oneself, it has to be composted, before it can grow into a story.

There's a point, around the age of twenty, when you have to choose whether to be like everybody else the rest of your life, or to make a virtue of your peculiarities.

The wise needn't ask, the fool asks in vain.

Skill in writing frees you to write what you want to write. It may also show you what you want to write. Craft enables art.

To be oneself is a rare thing, and a great one.

Paradise is for those who make paradise.

We're each of us alone, to be sure. What can you do but hold your hand out in the dark?