Hard writing makes easy reading. Easy writing makes hard reading.

Writers who think THEY are being criticized when only that writing is being criticized are beyond a teacher's reach. Writing can only be learned when a writer coldly separates himself from what he has written and looks at it with the objectivity of a plumber examining a newly piped bathroom to see if he got all the joints tight.

You'll never make your mark as a writer unless you develop a respect for words and a curiosity about their shades of meaning that is almost obsessive. The English language is rich in strong and supple words. Take the time to root around and find the ones you want

Memoir isn't the summary of a life; it's a window into a life, very much like a photograph in its selective composition. It may look like a casual and even random calling up of bygone events. It's not; it's a deliberate construction.

The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis.

There are all kinds of writers and all kinds of methods, and any method that helps you to say what you want to say is the right method for you.

Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax while being prodded for a possible hernia.