Journalism is writing that first appears in any periodic journal.

Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can't exist without the other.

Writing is a craft not an art.

Decide what you want to do. Then decide to do it. Then do it.

Writers are the custodians of memory, and that's what this chapter is about: how to leave some kind of record of your life and of the family you were born into.

Good writing has an aliveness that keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next, and it's not a question of gimmicks to "personalize" the author.

If writing seems hard, it's because it is hard. It's one of the hardest things people do.